Mine Forever
by Offroadgirly
Summary: Kate has a daughter named Kaylie. She and Rick meet similar to the way they meet on the show, though its AU after the first episode. What happens when Kaylie's father returns? Starts with Alexis 10 and Kaylie 5.
1. The Beginning

**Hi guys:) This is my first fanfic. I've been posting it on Instagram but I thought I'd also post here so more people could see it. I hope you enjoy.**

**The Beginning**

It had been a stupid night. They had gone out for drinks after a tough case. As usual the spark Kate felt whenever his hand, or shoulder, or leg brushed hers was present. She wasn't drunk, but she was buzzed and the alcohol she had consumed decreased her inhibitions and made everything seem more intense.

"Well, I think I'm gonna head out. We still have work tomorrow after all," Kate said, finishing off her drink and standing up.

"I'll join you." They hailed a cab and Kate told the driver her address. They sat in a comfortable silence all the way to Kate's apartment.

As the cab stopped Kate made a split second decision, turning to her partner, she asked, "Want to come up for a coffee or something?"

He hesitated for a moment before nodding and proceeding to hand the cabbie some money and follow Kate up to her apartment.

It started in the elevator with their hands brushing. Kate turned to look at her partner trying to gauge if it was intentional. He turned to look at her in the same moment. Kate noted that he seemed to be at war with himself.

This thought was fleeting, however, as his lips were pressed to hers the next second. They managed to stumble their way to her apartment. Kate shakily unlocked the door. As soon as they were inside, he pressed her against the door, closing it in the process.

After a few minutes Kate pulled away. "We can't do this, R-" she said trailing off in a moan as he sucked on an especially sensitive part of her neck.

"Why not, Kate? I want this, and I know you want this, what's stopping us?"

"We, we work together, it's against the rules. I could lose my job!"

"But if it feels this good, Kate, how could it be wrong? Please say yes. Please let us do this. I know we have both wanted this for so long."

"I-but-I do want this. Yes, okay, yes."

"Thank God" he said as he resumed his caresses to her neck.

"Oh God," she moaned. "Yes R-"

"Please, Kate. Say my name," he interrupted.

"Mike, don't stop, please, Royce, Mike, don't stop."

**So, the first chapter is done. Please leave me a review to let me know what you think or if you spot any mistakes. Thanks and love you all:)**


	2. He's Gone

**Here's another chapter. These first ones are really short, but they do get longer, I promise:) Enjoy:)**

**He's Gone**

When Kate woke up the next morning, she had a hangover and found the other side of the bed empty.

"I must have been more drunk than I thought," Kate thought to herself, glancing at the clock. She did a double take, realizing she only had 20 minutes to get ready. She quickly grabbed the first decent work outfit she found, took some Tylenol and jumped in the shower. Once she was finished she quickly got dressed, brushed her teeth, put on a light covering of makeup, threw her hair into a bun, and ran out the door.

* * *

Upon arriving at work, just in time, Kate learned that Royce had called in sick. Assuming he was fighting off a hangover similar to hers, Kate brushed it off and went on with her day.

The next day, Royce was distant. He avoided her as much as possible and refused Kate's offer to go out for lunch. This behavior continued for about a week, at which point Captain Montgomery called Kate into his office.

"Beckett, are you willing to become the lead detective of your team: Esposito and Ryan?"

"I would love to be a lead detective, Sir, but what about Royce?" Kate questioned.

"Detective Royce has taken a job with the FBI and will be moving to DC this weekend. I had assumed that he would have told you as his partner."

"No, Sir, I was unaware of this change, but I will gladly step up." Kate replied.

"Then congratulations Detective Beckett. You are dismissed."

"Thank you, Captain," Kate said, leaving the office, feeling a sense of understanding wash over her.

"Yo, Beckett, what did the captain want?" Esposito called as Kate sat down at her desk.

She looked up with a shocked look on her face. "He asked if I would be willing to take over as lead detective."

"And you said..." Ryan jumped in.

"I said, 'yes,' of course!"

"But what about Royce?" Ryan questioned.

"He took that job with the FBI in DC finally."

"Nice of him to tell us," Esposito chimed in.

"Well, it's good for him. That's a big step up," Ryan added, trying to stay positive as he returned to his paperwork with a sigh.

* * *

As soon as Kate got off work, she called Lanie.

"Parish."

"Lanie, it's me. We need to talk."

"If it's about your Jane Doe, I'm afraid I don't have anything new for ya, girl." Lanie replied distractedly.

"No, Lanie, you don't understand. This is personal, I need your advice."

"Ok, I'm listening. What's up?"

"Remember that one night stand I had last week? I'm ready to discuss it now."

"Girls night out?"

"I'm thinking more if a girls night in for this one Lanie," Kate said getting into her car to drive home. "Meet me at my apartment?"

"Sure honey, I'll be there within the hour."

"Thanks Lanie, I really need this."

"'Kay, girl, see ya soon."

**Hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review to let me know what you think, if you spot a mistake, or if you have a request/suggestion. Thanks and love you all:)**


	3. Telling Lanie

**So, this is the shortest chapter I have written and should be the shortest ever.**

**Telling Lanie**

"WHAT?!" Lanie screeched, loud enough for Kate's entire building to hear. "You finally jumped his bones like I've been telling you to do since you met him?" Lanie continued at a more reasonable level after a look from Kate.

"Lanie, that's not all."

"What? He loves you? He asked you to marry him? What?"

"Nothing like that, be realistic. He's leaving."

"What do you mean 'leaving?'"

"I mean that he has done everything he could to avoid me since that night. Now Captain Montgomery tells me that next week I'm gonna be lead detective because Royce is taking a job with the FBI in DC. A job that I know he has turned down several times since he started training me. Now, all of a sudden, he can't get away quick enough!" Kate exclaimed.

"Oh, Honey, I'm sorry." Lanie replied. "Have you talked to him about it?"

"No! He's been avoiding me like the plague since it happened. I thought something might change afterwards, but it didn't and now he's going to be gone and I don't want him to be gone and I can't do anything!" Kate responded getting more and more worked up the more she spoke.

"Sweetie, this is the most emotion I've seen from you since your mom died. You need to talk to him."

"I'll try, but I don't even know how I'd start or what I'd say."

"Just let him know how you are feeling. Do what you can to sort this all out."

**Hope you enjoyed. Please leave a review letting me know what you thought, if you find a mistake, or if you have any suggestions/requests. Thanks and love you all:)**


	4. One Word

**Here is chapter 4. This is the last one I'm going to upload tonight. I'll post more tomorrow. Enjoy:)**

**One Word**

Kate could hear her phone ringing. She ignored it and continued searching through the files in front of her. In the past, Royce had been there to stop her, to help her reign in the need to find answers. He was there from the start. Well, as soon as she had access to the files, he was there.

Now that he was gone, there was no one there to reign her in. She allowed herself to get lost in her mother's case. There was nothing to stop her, no reason not to lose herself as far as she was concerned. Her father was losing himself to the bottle, and in her opinion she was losing herself in something much more productive. The boys at the precinct, Ryan and Esposito, weren't being harmed by her behavior as she worked just as hard and closed just as many cases. Yes, they were her friends, but she still didn't see how she would be hurting them by looking into the case.

Kate noticed the phone had stopped ringing. For that, she was grateful. She needed to concentrate. She figured not answering would let the person on the other end know she didn't want to deal with them. She knew it wasn't the precinct because Montgomery had mandated that she stay home for the weekend. They had solved a 2 week long case so he felt they all deserved a break.

Kate was startled from her work by a knock on her door. She wasn't expecting anyone, so she slowly got up, grabbing her gun from the drawer she stored it in, and slowly continued to the door. She looked through the peephole and saw it had been covered. This made her cop instincts kick in. She opened the door, swinging the gun into the open doorway.

Lanie didn't even blink at the sight of the gun in her face. She simply pushed her way past Kate exclaiming, "Girl, you better have a damn good reason for ignoring my calls, the boys' texts, and your entire life for the past 2 days. We have been worrying about you like crazy and I-" Lanie's rant was cut short when she noticed the living room.

"Why are you here, Lanie?" Kate asked, annoyed that her research and work had been interrupted.

"Girl, Imma smack you. Did you really not look at any of the texts or voicemails? We have been worried something happened to you, since you decided to fall off the face of the earth. I was volunteered to be the one that came here and got your ass up and out of here."

"I am fine Lanie. I've just been busy."

"He's been gone for over a month, and you let him leave. You need to move on and stop drowning yourself in your mother's case. While I'll admit, I never met her, I know that she wouldn't want you to lose your life just because she lost hers."

"Lanie, this has nothing to do with HIM," Kate said, a disgusted look on her face at the mention of "him."

"Kate, whether you admit it or not, he messed you up. You were in love with him whether you've realized it or admitted it to yourself or not."

"I was in love with the idea of him. That, I will admit. But now he's gone and I can see that that is all it was. Okay? I'm fine, but busy. You've seen that I'm alive and fine, you can report back to the boys that it's all ok. You can go now."

"Kate, I may have seen that you're alive, but I haven't seen that you are fine. I know that Royce was always the one to pull you back when it came to your mother's case, but he's gone now. You didn't fight it when he left, so I'm not gonna push you to now. But girl, I am gonna be the person that pulls you back. How I see it, I am one of the only people around who will kick your ass into gear."

"I have other people!" Kate defended

"Like who? The boys? The captain? Who else Kate? Who else?"

"We'll, there's... I... I'm not going there with you."

"Sweetie, I know that everything that's been going on has been taking its toll on you, but there are still people around that care about you and we can't just sit back and watch you waste away. We love you, we can't watch this."

Kate glared at Lanie. It was clear she was not in the mood. Suddenly her face changed. Her hand flew to her mouth and she ran to the bathroom.

Lanie stood there in confusion until she could heard the sounds of Kate throwing up. She rushed to her just in time to see her stand up and wash her mouth out.

"Are you sick?" Lanie asked, her medical training kicking in.

"I'm fine Lanie," Kate sighed. "This has been going on for about a week on and off, I'm fine."

"Girl, a week? That's is! I am taking you to the doctor!"

"B-"

"No! No buts Kate, if this has been going on for a week, something could be seriously wrong."

* * *

It had taken several minutes of threats and persuasion before Kate agreed to let Lanie take her to the doctor.

After the doctor ran some tests, she left the room. Kate fidgeted in her seat while Lanie browsed through a celebrity magazine.

When the doctor returned and gave Kate her diagnosis, Kate was left speechless. One word was left to repeat through her head.

**PREGNANT PREGNANT PREGNANT**

**And there you have it. Kaylie will appear in the next chapter. I hope you enjoyed. Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought of it, if you find any mistakes, or if you have any requests/suggestions. I will try to include any requests or suggestions I receive, but I do have a general idea for how I want this story to go and several major plot points that I'm working towards. But, I do value any review I get and will try to respond to you all quickly. Thanks and love you all:)**


	5. Kaylie Johanna Beckett

**Hi guys:) If you review as a guest I'll respond to you at the beginning of my next chapter, other wise I will PM you:) Please enjoy**

**Guest: here is more:)**

**Maria: Castle will show up soon, chapter 7 which will be up today:)**

**Kaylie Johanna Beckett**

Kaylie Johanna Beckett was born eight months later. She was a beautiful, healthy little baby girl.

A week after Kate found out she was pregnant she called Royce. He didn't answer so she left a voicemail saying they needed to talk about THAT night. He didn't call her back.

When she found out she was having a girl, she called again leaving the same message and receiving no response.

When Kaylie was two weeks old, Kate called again. She repeated her message once more. She vowed to herself and her perfect little Kaylie that if Royce didn't call her back this time, she was done.

Her call, once again, went unanswered. From that day forward, she vowed to never speak of or think of Royce again, unless absolutely necessary. She wrote out three letters explaining to Kaylie who her father was and why she didn't know him. She didn't sugar coat anything. She simply laid out the facts. One letter was given to Lanie, another put with her will, and the third, she kept to give Kaylie on her 18th birthday for her to decide what to do with.

When she delivered the letter to Lanie, Kate swore her to secrecy. No one else was aware of the identity of Kaylie's father. Whenever Jim would ask she would deflect or refuse to answer. When Kaylie was about six months old, Kate sat her father down and told him that from that moment forward, he was not to ask about Kaylie's father or try to find out who he was. From that point forward, Kaylie had no father. No one asked about him after that.

* * *

By the time Kaylie turned five, she had become an irreplaceable fixture within the 12th precinct and within the hearts of the people who worked there. Kaylie was especially fond of the specific few that worked closest with her mom. Kaylie routinely visited with her Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jenny, Tio Javi and Aunt Lanie, as well as Uncle Roy and his family. Adding to her family was Grandpa Jim. She also had a Grandma Johanna, but she was in Heaven. And of course, Kaylie's favorite person in the world, her mommy, Kate Beckett.

**As ALWAYS please leave me a review of what you think, any mistakes you find, and any requests/suggestions. Thanks so much. I love you all:)**


	6. Called Out

**Another chapter. Hope you enjoy:)**

**Called Out**

Kate got the call at 6:00 that night. She had just gotten Kaylie out of her bath and into her pjs. Apparently some people thought this case might be related to the one she was working on so, of course, she had been called to go in.

Once she got off the phone with Ryan, she called her dad and asked if he could come over. He was more than happy to babysit.

Kate returned to Kaylie's bedroom. As she settled Kaylie into bed she told her Grandpa was coming over and would be watching her for a bit because mommy had to go catch some bad guys.

"But, Mommy, do you have to go?" Kaylie whined.

"I'm sorry baby, but I have to go get the bad guys. You know it's my job. But I'll be here in the morning to take you to school. I'll also read you any story you want before your grandpa gets here, ok?"

"Okay Mommy. Can we read Grandma Johanna's favorite?"

"Of course we can, Sweetheart. Go get it off the shelf and bring it here." Kaylie scrambled off her bed and ran to the bookshelf. She plucked _Good Night Moon_ off the shelf and ran back to Kate.

"Here Mommy," she said with a large grin.

As Kate began reading, Kaylie's eyes began to droop. As Kate looked up from reading the last page, she saw Kaylie was fast asleep. Just as she was putting the book down she heard a knock on the door. She rushed to the door to answer it, not noticing Kaylie start to stir at the sound of her bedroom door closing.

"Katie, where are you off to so late that you need your dear old dad to come babysit?" Jim asked.

"Sorry Dad, work called, we got another weird one. Plus, I know how much you love kissing Kaylie goodnight because she reminds you of me when I was that age." Kate smile grabbing her purse and kissing Jim on the cheek as she rushed out the door.

Kaylie woke up more as she heard her mom and grandpa talk. She glanced around her room and her eyes were drawn to the only light source, her nightlight. She had repeatedly told her mother that she didn't need it anymore because she was a big girl, but her mom didn't lister. Now might be the perfect time to take matters into her own hands and take it out herself.

Jim slowly made his way to his granddaughter's room. He silently pushed the door open slightly to look in on her. Seeing her made him chuckle. She was balancing precariously between the end of her bed and dresser as she attempted to grab her nightlight.

Jim made his way over to her grabbing her around her middle and whispering, "what do you think you're doing," into her ear a her sat down on the bed, pulling her onto his lap. Kaylie turned quickly in his arms, looking at him with wide eyes. When she realized who it was, she put her hand to her chest, complaining "you scared me Grandpa! My heart almost had an attack!"

Jim chuckled at her choice of words squeezing her around her middle. "I'm sorry munchkin, but you still didn't answer my question. What were you doing?"

"Trying to pull out my nightlight, duh!"

"Watch the tone, little miss. Why would you want to unplug your pretty night light?"

"Sorry Grandpa. I'm a big girl now, so I don't need a night light and I don't need to be called munchkin or little anymore either," she pouted.

"Why didn't you ask your mommy to unplug it for you?" Jim asked ignoring her comments on his nicknames for her. Kaylie was small for her age, and Jim couldn't help but lovingly point it out, as he had done to his little Katie when she was Kaylie's age.

"I wanted to do it myself!"

"Well, how about I help you Kaylie-bug?"

"Ok Grandpa," Kaylie smiled.

Jim carefully lifted her up so she could pull the nightlight from it's plug. "There, now how abouts we get you tucked back in and off to dreamland?"

"Ok Grandpa," Kaylie yawned, climbing back on her bed and crawling beneath the covers.

**Another chapter comes to a close. Please leave me a review telling me what you thought, any mistakes you find, and if you have any questions, requests, or suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	7. Something Different

**Here is Castle's first appearance. Hope you enjoy:)**

**Something Different**

As she stepped off the elevator, Kate couldn't help but think that the murder the previous night seemed familiar. She hoped this murder, if it was tied to the other, would shed some light on the familiarity.

As she approached the body, she felt a strange sense of déjà vu, but was sure she had never seen a body covered in flowers like this. She continued to rack her brain for the connection as she chatted with Lanie about the victim and romance.

"Who says romance is dead?" Lanie asked referring to the flowers.

"I do, every Friday night," Kate shot back.

"Girl, you need to go out once in awhile, let your hair down."

"You know why I can't do that Lanie. I have Kaylie to think about."

"How many times have I told you, I'll watch her for you if you want to go out. And if you want a girls night out, we can have Javi watch her."

"Cuz we know if you have plans that don't include him, he won't have plans."

"Shut it, Kate!"

"Come on, we all know you and JAVI are together, so don't even try to deny it."

"Fine, I won't deny it. I do wish he would give me flowers like this. Well, not like THIS but... What's with the look?"

"I just realized where I know this from."

"You've seen this before?"

"No, I read it. You know that mystery writer I like so much? Richard Castle? This murder and the one last night both come from his books."

"Then I guess you're gonna need to go have a talk with your favorite writer."

* * *

Alexis was sitting next to her Grams at the bar of a fancy restaurant. Everyone could tell the little redhead couldn't care less about the party around her. She had her nose buried in her book as her grandmother scoped out all the men over 50.

Rick walked up behind Alexis and grabbed her shoulders attempting to startle her. Alexis calmly looked up, informing her father that she had seen him coming in the mirror behind the bar.

"You are too smart daughter. Simply too smart for your old man!" Rick replied.

"Maybe you'd be smarter if you didn't go to all these boring parties. Are you almost done? My bed time is in 10 minutes."

"I know what you mean, pumpkin, but daddy has to stay til the end. You and your Grams can go now or I can call a babysitter to come get you."

"Babysitter," Alexis said with a confident little nod. "Grams is too busy looking for a new beau. She enjoys these parties. I just find them boring."

"I agree pumpkin. I wish someone would be different, yet all the women come up and ask me to sign their boo-books and try to give me their numbers. It gets redundant after a while." Rick felt a tap on his shoulder. "Duty calls," he said, turning around. "Where would you like it?"

Kate held up her badge. "NYPD, I need to ask you a few questions about a murder that took place earlier tonight."

Rick's jaw dropped and Alexis whispered, "that's different," as she took the pen out of his hand.

**Like what I did there? They all ask for their "books" to be signed. Please leave a review letting me know what you think, any mistakes, and any questions, requests, or suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	8. The Story

**t's been brought to my attention that Alexis from the show wouldn't need a babysitter at that party. That is true, I forgot to mention that Alexis is only 10 at this point in my story. Sorry for any confusion this may have caused. Please enjoy.**

**The Story**

Kate took Castle into the interrogation room. She went over his history with him quickly before showing him pictures of the 2 victims. He didn't know either of them, much to Kate's irritation. She then showed him pictures of the crime scenes, stating which book each came from.

"It seems I have a fan," Castle quipped.

"Yeah, a really deranged fan."

"Oh, you don't seem deranged to me."

"What?" Kate asked, confused as to why he was bringing her up. They were talking about the murderer, weren't they?

"_Hell Hath No Fury_? Only hardcore Castle groupies know that one."

"Any of these groupies ever write you letters?" Kate questioned, getting back on subject. After some discussion Castle happily gave her permission to look through his fan mail to see if there was anything that could lead them to the killer.

As Kate got up to leave Castle stopped her. "Can I have a copy of those pictures?"

"Pictures?" Kate asked, a sinking feeling in her stomach. She hadn't realized he was one of THOSE guys, even if he did write murder mysteries for a living.

"Yeah, I have this poker game, other writers and such. You have no idea how jealous those will make them. I mean, in my line of work a copycat is the highest badge of honor."

Kate felt the bile rise up in her throat. Had someone asked for pictures of her mother? Did someone have pictures that they took around bragging? The mere thought disgusted her. "People are dead, Mr. Castle."

"I'm not asking for the bodies, just the pictures," Castle replied with a slight grin on his face. Kate rolled her eyes and left the interrogation room, taking the files with her.

Later, Kate and Castle were going through box after box of fan mail. Kate was irked that he had managed to worm his way into the investigation after how he had acted.

Kaylie was staying with Jim, for which Kate was eternally grateful. She had seen Kaylie off to school Friday morning and let Jim pick her up. Now, Saturday morning Kate was glad she didn't need to worry about a babysitter for her daughter as she was too busy babysitting the writer. Kate had to admit to herself that he was quite attractive, but his childishness was a turn off. Kaylie and work took up all of her time as it was, she didn't need an egotistical, self-absorbed, playboy of a writer hanging around. At least that's what Kate was telling herself as her inner fangirl screamed and cried over the fact that she was sitting next to her favorite writer, who was coincidently staring at her over the letter he was reading. As soon as she looked up he returned to the letter in his hand. As she went back to her own letter, she felt his eyes on her once more. Looking up she asked, "what?"

"Nothing, just the way your brow furrows when you concentrate, it's cute. I mean, not if you're playing poker, then it'd be deadly."

"Can I ask you a question? Why are you here? You don't care about the victims, so you're not here for justice. You don't care that this guy is using you books, so you not here because you're outraged. So what is it, Rick? Are you here to annoy me?"

"I'm here for the story."

"The story?"

"Yeah, why THOSE people? Why those murders?"

"Sometimes there is no story. Sometimes the guy's just a psychopath."

"There's always a story. There's always a chain of events that makes everything make sense. Take you, for example. Under normal circumstances you shouldn't be here. Most smart good looking women become lawyers, not cops. And yet here you are. Why?"

"I don't know, Rick, you're the novelist, you tell me."

Castle put down the letter he had been looking at and leaned forward, excited. "Well you're not bridge and tunnel, no sign of the Burroughs when you talk. That means Manhattan, that means money. You went to college, probably a good one. You had options. Yeah you had lots of options, better options, more socially acceptable options and you still chose this. That tells me something happened. Not to you, you're wounded, but not THAT wounded. It was someone you cared about." Kate's smirk began to fade. "Someone you loved. You probably could have lived with that, but the person responsible was never caught. And that, Detective Beckett, is why you are here."

"Cute trick, but don't think you know me," Kate replied picking up a letter again.

"The point is, there's always a story. You just have to find it."

"I think I just did," Kate replied showing him the letter in her hand.

**Hope you enjoyed. Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought of it, any mistakes you find, or any questions/suggestions/requests. Thanks and love you all:)**


	9. Who is the Bad Guy?

**Here is another chapter for all you lovelies out there. I hope you enjoy:)**

**Who is the Bad Guy?**

Once they found the guy whose prints had been on the letter, Kate put him in interrogation. He wouldn't speak. Kate would have to arrange for an aid to be brought in for him, but it was still likely that he would be found guilty. She found it sad, but was glad to be able to go home. She hadn't seen Kaylie since Friday and was glad to go pick her up from Jim's house.

Castle wasn't happy with the guy they had caught. In his opinion the story didn't make sense and the details in the murders weren't right. A person as obsessed with him and his books as the guy they had arrested wouldn't make such mistakes.

When Kate got home with Kaylie she couldn't stop thinking about the murders. Kaylie could tell that her mother was distracted. "What's wrong Mommy? Did the bad guy get away today?"

"Maybe, sweetie, but I'll get them tomorrow. Now, it's time for you to go to bed."

"You have to work tomorrow? But, it's Sunday tomorrow! We were gonna go to the park."

"Well, we'll still be able to go because I only have to go in for a few hours. You get to come in with me too. You'll get to see your aunts and uncles and spend some time with them before we go to the park. Sound good?"

"OK, Mommy! That sounds like the best day ever!" Kaylie replied, getting excited over the next day's plans.

"I'm glad baby. Now, you need to go to sleep so tomorrow can come, OK?

"OK, goodnight, Mommy. I love you."

"I love you too, sweet heart. Goodnight, sleep tight, don't let the bedbugs bite." Kate replied, smiling as her daughter laughed at the rhyme. Kate walked to the door and turned off the light, plunging the room into darkness. "What happened to your nightlight?"

"Me and Grandpa took it out. I'm a big girl now, I don't need it." Kate smiled at her daughter before pulling the door mostly shut behind her, leaving it open just enough so allow a sliver of light from the hallway to make its way inside. She had done the same when she was Kaylie's age, even though the dark still scared her. Her parent's had left her door open as well to make it easier for her.

* * *

The next day brought Kaylie and Kate to the precinct bright and early. Kate dropped Kaylie off with Lanie. There were no fresh bodies and Lanie had finished all of her paperwork. This meant that she and Kaylie would be able to hang out, talk, and play with the medical equipment until a call came in.

As Kate walked towards her desk she noticed Castle sitting there looking through a file on her desk. She ran over, closing the file. "What are you doing?"

"Sorry, occupational hazard."

"Why are you here? The case is closed."

"I just wanted to thank you," he said, handing her a wrapped gift box. She looked at it skeptically. "Don't be so suspicious." Kate opened the box and found Storm Fall, his latest book. "I signed it to you, even though you're not a fan," He said slinging his bag over his shoulder and kissing her on the cheek. "Goodbye Detective."

Kate allowed herself a small grin as he left. Kate sat down, smiling, until she looked down at the file on her desk. "Oh, he didn't," she whispered to herself, flipping the file open. Inside she saw that the pictures and some of her notes were missing. "Oh, he did!" Kate exclaimed standing up and heading towards the elevator. The elevator doors suddenly opened letting Lanie and Kaylie out.

"Caught a body, looks like she's your responsibility again," Lanie said with a smile.

"Hey baby girl," Kate smiled. She turned to Esposito and Ryan. "Boys, I think I have a little road trip for the two of you. Kate pulled out her phone and dialed Castle's home number.

"Hello?" a young voice answered.

"Hi Alexis. This is Detective Beckett. Could I speak with your grandmother please."

"Sure Detective. One second." Kate could hear Alexis yelling for her grams in the background.

"Hello Detective Beckett, is there anything I can do for you?"

"Yes, could you tell me where your son is?"

"He should be at the New York Public Library. Why? Is he in trouble again?"

"I'm afraid so. You'll probably want to come pick him up soon, I'm sorry."

"Ok, thank you for the warning. Goodbye Detective."

"Thank you for your help Mrs. Castle, goodbye."

"Actually it's Ms. Rodgers,but call me Martha. And it's no problem; I know what a handful my son can be."

"Alright Martha. Thank you and goodbye."

"Goodbye Detective, we shall be at the precinct soon." Kate hung up her phone and looked down at Kaylie

"Who's Alexis and Mrs. Castle, Mommy?" Kaylie asked as Kate hung up the phone.

"Some new friends, I think you'll like them. Boys, go to the library and arrest Castle." Kate said, turning towards the boys for the last part.

"On what charges?" Ryan asked.

"Obstruction of justice and stealing evidence."

"Is he a bad guy?" Kaylie questioned.

"Not really, baby, it just complicated."

**Another chapter done. I'm about to eat dinner, but I may post one or two chapters after. Please leave me a review letting me know what you think, any mistakes you find, and any questions/concerns/requests/suggestions or even if you just want to say hi. Thanks and love you all:)**


	10. Drama Queens

**For you all, another chapter. Please enjoy:)**

**Drama Queens**

Beckett heard the elevator ding as it opened. She glanced out the break room window and saw Esposito and Ryan leading Castle to the interrogation room. "Kaylie, I need you to stay in here for me ok?"

"If you say so Mommy. I'll make more pictures for you."

"That's a good girl." Kate left the break room and went to the interrogation room. "Ok Mr. Castle, here's how this is gonna work. I don't think the guy we have did it. You don't seem to think so either. I can't put my finger on what the issue is, so you're gonna tell me your theory, then you're going to go home. You will not interfere with this investigation again unless I ask for your help, got it? If you follow those rules, all charges against you in this matter will be dropped. Deal?"

"You drive a hard bargain Detective, but I accept."

"Good. Now, what doesn't fit?"

"The details, the dress and the roses were wrong. Then there's the victims. The first was convenience then someone he was really close to, then convenience again. It just doesn't make sense. So, I went to talk to Tisdale's dad and found out he's dying, so I think Allison's brother is the murderer. When Mr. Tisdale dies, the son now gets half the estate instead of one quarter."

"Strangely that makes sense. Once your mother and daughter get here, you may leave."

"You called them?" Castle whined.

"How else do you think we found you?" Kate smiled, walking out. Just as Kate was about to go into the break room again, the elevator dinged once more. "Hello Alexis, Martha."

"Hello dear. Now, where is that son of mine?"

"I'll go get him." Kate opened the door to the interrogation room. "Your family is here."

"Richard, Darling! Oh, thank goodness you're alright! We were so worried, please don't do anything like this again."

"Grams," Alexis giggled, "we are in public, not at a show! Besides, Detective Beckett told us he was fine on the phone."

"Mother is a broadway star. She has a flair for the dramatics," Castle elaborated.

"Wait, you're THE Martha Rodgers? My mom and I used to go see your shows before... well, we used to go see your shows all the time."

"How great. It's always nice to meet a fan. Maybe I could get you and your mother some tickets."

"Oh, no that won't be necessary, really."

"Hey, Beckett, can I talk to you for a minute? Really quick?" Castle suddenly asked.

"Sure, why not?" Kate sighed, heading towards the break room. Then she remembered Kaylie was in there. She didn't want Castle knowing about her just yet. She quickly changed directions heading for the conference room. "What do you want?"

"Ok, so you know I've been bugging you this whole case about what happened to make you become a cop. I think I figured it out. Mind if I guess one last time?"

"Fine, go ahead."

"I was thinking, because of your watch, which is obviously supposed to be a man's, that it was an ex-boyfriend or something, but you've shot that idea down multiple times. But when Mother offered you tickets, it clicked."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, it was your father. That's why you and your mom haven't gone to any shows for a while."

Kate sighed, "It wasn't my dad. You're not gonna let this go are you? Fine, I might as well tell you the story. It was January. My dad and I were supposed to meet my mom at a restaurant for dinner. She had been busy at work and was going to go to the restaurant straight from work. She was late, so my dad and I waited half an hour into our reservation to order. We assumed that she had just gotten caught up with her current case or something. She was a lawyer by the way. We thought she would meet us at home with some crazy tale about the case. When we got home, Detective Raglan was waiting for us. Mom had been murdered in an alley. They passed it off as random gang violence and put the case on the back burner. Dad didn't take it well, I mean who would? He started drinking and it got really bad for a while." She pulled the ring from beneath her shirt. "This is for the life I lost." She pointed to her watch. "This is for the life that was saved. Any questions?"

"How old were you?"

"19. Anything else? I think it's time for you to go. I need to get back to work."

"One more question. How was your dad's life saved?"

"He's sober now. Has been for over 5 years now."

"Congratulations," Castle said walking to the door. After another round of goodbyes Castle and crew left. Kate breathed a sigh of relief and returned to the break room. As soon as she entered she was assaulted by thousands of colors and a tiny pair of arms. Kaylie bombarded her with stories of all the pictures she had drawn and colored. The table was covered in so many pictures, the top wasn't even visible.

"Someone's been busy!"

"Well, yeah! You were gone for forever! I had to do something." Kaylie replied falling onto the couch, one hand pressed to her forehead the other to her chest. Kate smiled as she recognized the Drama Queen in her daughter coming out.

"Ok little miss. Time for the park, bu-"

"Yay, yay, yay! Park time!" Kaylie shouted cutting off her mother.

"But first! We need to clean up all these beautiful pictures you made" Kate calmed Kaylie down and they managed to round up all the pictures within 5 minutes.

**Hopefully you all enjoyed this chapter. Please leave me a review letting me know what you think, any mistakes you find, or anything that you hope to see, I'll try to include it. Thanks and love you all:)**


	11. Coffee and Shadows

**Sorry I haven't posted earlier today, but I had work. Here is another chapter. I'll post a few more after this as well. Hope you enjoy:)**

**Coffee and Shadows**

Kate was sitting at her desk the next day doing paperwork when her phone rang. Without looking at the screen, she answered, "Beckett."

"So hot when you do that."

"Castle? What do you want? And how did you get this number?"

"You called the loft to find me the other day, I just looked back through my caller ID log. I was calling to ask if you'd like to have a coffee with me."

"Coffee? I'm kinda busy Castle, maybe some other time."

"Come on Detective, everybody could use a break now and then. I'll pay and everything."

"Fine. I can meet you in half an hour. Where were you thinking?"

"There's a little place I know of that's not too far from the precinct. I'll text you the address."

"Fine, bye Castle."

"Goodbye Kate," Castle replied disconnecting the call. Kate couldn't help but notice the shiver that ran down her spine when he used her first name. It was so confusing. What could it mean? She couldn't actually be falling for him, could she?

She thought back on how Castle had acted throughout the case. Mostly he maintained the devil-may-care attitude the media portrayed him to have. But there were times, especially when he was with his mother and daughter, something else seemed to shine through. Could that be the real him? The kind, caring man she had glimpsed, or was that an act?

She remembered the way he had studied her, trying to figure out her story. The serious look in his eye as she told him about her mom. Maybe, just maybe he wasn't the guy the media showed him to be. She thought of his books; a guy that could write something that had moved her that much had to be more like the kind and caring man she had glimpsed than the playboy the media showed. She finished the file she was working on and glanced at her phone. She saw the text from Castle. The Old Haunt? She'd never heard of it.

She grabbed her purse and jacket and headed to the elevator. She flagged down a cab once she made it out to the street. She gave the driver the address and settled in for the ride.

* * *

Kate entered the old speakeasy, looking around. This was a bar. Castle had said they were going to have coffee, why would he have her come to a bar? Technically, she was still on duty, even if she was on her lunch break. There was no way she was drinking. She rarely dark as it was, maybe a glass of wine after a difficult case accompanied by a good book and bubble bath. Even when she went out with Lanie for girls' night she would limit herself to a drink or 2. Kate refused to end up like her father. She would not do that to Kaylie, that little girl deserved far more than Kate could give her, the least she could do would be to stay sober.

Kate glanced around the bar once again, looking for the writer. She spotted him easily, hunched over in a booth. There weren't many people in the bar, so she easily made her way over to him and slid into the booth across from him. He didn't notice her, so Kate asked, "I thought you said we were getting coffee."

"Detective!" Castle jumped, startled by her sudden presence. "Nice of you to join me. We are here for coffee. This place has great coffee, some of the best I've ever had. It also has some pretty good food and a great atmosphere. I like to come here to write. The place just exudes a certain charm that helps the words just flow onto the page."

"Castle, why did you invite me here?"

"Well, I just thought that if I am going to be shadowing you on a more permanent basis in the near future, it might be advisable that we get to know each other. I know I feel more comfortable working with someone I know, and I reckon that you feel the same way."

"That would actually be a decent idea if you were to shadow me, which I doubt will ever happen."

"Why do you say that?" Castle asked, confused as to why she didn't believe he would soon be following her full time.

"You have a family. Very few people that have a family become cops or shadow them for more than a few weeks. Sure, cops have families," Kate said before Castle could interject,"but, it is very rare for someone that already has a child to become a cop, or even shadow a detective for too long. It's too much, the fear for your life. At the beginning, it just overwhelms you. When you don't have a family you can overcome that fear. When you add a spouse or kid, that fear is too much, all you can think about is the possibility of not making it home to them. If you have a family after you've been a cop for a while, it's already in your blood. You can't stop and you know that you have the resources to make it home every night. You still feel the fear, but you also know that you're stronger than that fear."

"Wow, you sound like you speak from experience. But trust me, I've done far worse than shadowing a detective, while I've had Alexis. I'm not known for doing what everyone else does. I tend to the opposite."

"I do speak from experience. I've seen it happen to plenty of detectives and cops around me. But you're determined to shadow me, aren't you?"

"Of course!" Castle replied simply with a smile on his face, flagging down a waitress. They ordered their coffees and turned back to each other.

"Why?" Kate questioned.

"Why what?"

"Why do you want to follow me?"

"I want to know the full story. You've told me a lot, but I want to know everything. You're just this mysterious, interesting woman that I feel I could write a book on already. Well, maybe after a little more research."

"You want to write a book... about me?!" Kate gasped.

**Thanks for reading. Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought of this story so far, any mistakes you find, and any questions/suggestions/requests. Thanks and love you all:)**


	12. Kate Tells All

**Another chapter for all you lovelies. I'll probably post one more after this one, then I'll work on writing another. I'll probably post more after I finish the chapter I've been working on. Enjoy:)**

**Kate Tells All**

A week later Castle was officially following Detective Kate Beckett. Over the following 3 weeks the 2 went out on 2 more coffee dates, though Kate refused to use the term "date." Kate also spent time at the loft with him as well. She saw him interact with his mother and daughter. It was amazing to see how different he acted around Alexis and Martha than he did in public for the media. Kate was surprised to find that his playboy image was just that, an image. In actuality he was kind and caring but also obnoxious and annoying like a 9-year-old on a sugar rush.

To those that had known Kate for a long time, her acceptance of the writer was miraculous. She was never this open with anyone after this short of time. She had always been guarded, ever since her mother died, most assumed. After Kaylie was born, they saw her become even more guarded. She protected her life at home and her secrets with a vengeance.

One person was consistently absent from the precinct for those 3 weeks. Everybody was missing Kaylie and the light she brought to the precinct with her. Seeing her seemed to make the world a little brighter and as homicide detectives, they needed it.

No one would mention the glaring absence to Kate. They all understood her reluctance to share Kaylie with the writer. An outsider was constantly present in their precinct and she had yet to fully trust him. They just hoped she trusted him soon. They missed their Kaylie sunshine.

* * *

It was a Monday after a long weekend about a month into Castle's shadowing. All that waited for Kate was a day of paperwork and she was was tempted to call in sick. Kaylie had been sick since Friday and didn't appear to be getting better. Jim had agreed to watch his grandbaby while she was at work, but Kate still hated leaving her baby girl, especially when she was sick.

With strict instructions to call her if ANYTHING happened, Kate left her dad in charge and went to work.

After working on some overdue paperwork for 2 hours, a coffee magically appeared before her. Startled, Kate looked up to see Castle smiling down at her. She briefly smiled back before glancing at her phone and grabbing the coffee. She had been glancing at her phone every few minutes since she had gotten in.

Castle didn't think much of it until her 5th glance. He was about to comment when her phone suddenly buzzed. Kate snatched the phone off the desk quicker than Castle had ever seen. She quickly scanned the message and a ghost of a smile swept over her face for a moment.

It was a message from her dad saying, "stop worrying. Everything is fine. Don't try to deny you were worrying. I know you, now get back to work Katie-Bear."

Kate typed back a quick, "yes sir!" Before setting her phone down with a sigh.

Castle took that moment to pounce. "You seem tense detective. Anything I can do to help?"

Kate debated the choices before her. She could shut him down and brush him off, or she could tell him about Kaylie.

Kate stared at Castle for a few moments. Castle watched as emotions flittered across her face. From what experience he had with her he could tell she was debating something. He knew it would be best if he remained silent and let her make the decision on her own.

Suddenly her face cleared. The worry he had seen upon her face was still there, but it was clear that she had made a decision. "I'll tell you over lunch, you're buying." It was not posed as a question.

"Remy's?" Castle questioned, accepting her terms.

* * *

2 hours later the duo was comfortably seated in a booth in a secluded corner of Remy's. They chatted amicably about nothing in particular until their food came and Castle's curiosity won out over his self control. "So, what's up detective?"

Kate heaved a sigh and placed her burger back on her plate. She reached into her purse on the bench beside her and pulled out a photo. It had been taken on Kaylie's 5th birthday. She had written a brief description on the back "Kaylie's 5th birthday April 15th"

She placed the photo face up on the table and slid it to Castle. He picked it up and examined it. It was a young girl, about four or five blowing out candles on a birthday cake. The girl looked like what he assumed Kate must have at that age. Why was she showing him a picture of herself as a child? He flipped the picture over and Kate watched as he skimmed over the words written there. He visibly paled as he reread the words.

Kate felt her heart skip a beat and then speed up. Did he disapprove of single parents? No that couldn't be it because he was basically a single parent himself. Was he repulsed by the fact that SHE had a child? Why wasn't he saying anything?

Castle slowly turned the picture back over studying the smiling face in the picture before looking up at her. The pity and sorrow on his face was so pronounced, Kate was left breathless. He pitied her? He had a daughter of his own, how could he pity her having a daughter? He had to know the joy it brought.

"I'm so sorry Kate," Castle started, "life has been so unfair to you! First your mother, then this little angel? I'm so sorry," he said reaching for her hands across the table.

Kate pulled her hands away, "I don't regret Kaylie! Sure, I wish the circumstances were different. But like you said, life is unfair. Life has been hard on me, but I wouldn't change Kaylie for the world!"

"But she was so young. She barely even had a start at life!" Castle replied sadly.

Suddenly Kate understood his pity. He thought Kaylie was dead. "Oh! No, Castle, no! Kaylie is safe at home, with my dad. She's fine, well she has a cold, but other than that, she's fine. I've been jumpy and anxious because I hate to be away from her, especially when she's sick. That photo was taken about three months ago," Kate explained quickly grabbing his hand reassuringly.

"She's alive?" Castle questioned quietly.

"Yes she is. She's a rambunctious little five-year-old that I think you'll get along with quite well."

"You want me to meet her?"

"Of course. My partner should know my kid. Besides, she's been dying to come to the precinct again. I don't think I've ever kept her away this long before. I promised I'd bring her in as soon as she's better. I don't see how that's gonna happen without you meeting her unless I banish you, in which case I'm sure you'd come back anyway."

The two finished their meals as Kate told Castle more about Kaylie and he interjected with stories of Alexis.

**There you go. Castle knows about Kaylie now. Please leave me a review letting me know what you think of the story so far, any mistakes you find, and any questions/requests/suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	13. The First Hello

**Another chapter for you all. Hope you enjoy:)**

**The First Hello**

Kate was nervous. Today was the day Castle was going to meet Kaylie. They were going to meet at a park Kaylie and Alexis both loved. Castle was bringing Alexis with him so she could meet Kaylie as well. Kate had no doubt that they would all get along, so she couldn't figure out why she was so nervous.

One o'clock came and Kate ushered Kaylie out of the apartment.

"Where are we going mommy?" Kaylie asked.

"To the park. We are going to meet my new partner and his daughter."

"Does that mean I get to come to the precinct again?" Kaylie was smart. She knew her mom was protective of her. She liked to keep her hidden away until she knew people pretty well. When Kaylie had asked her before why she did that, Kate told her that it was to make sure no bad guys found out about her. If they did, they could use Kaylie against her. Kaylie had accepted this answer though she didn't completely understand.

She was also smart enough to realize that her mom started to keep her away from the precinct around the same time she started talking about having a new partner. If she was getting to meet this partner, it must mean she could return to the precinct. She had beaten her cold two days ago and was anxious to hold her mother to her promise. It was, however, Friday when she felt 100% again so she had to wait for the weekend to be over before going back in because Kate didn't have a case and wasn't on call that weekend.

"Yes baby girl. You can come to the precinct after kindergarten tomorrow. Now, we need to get going, we don't want to keep them waiting.

* * *

Kate and Kaylie made it to the park right at 1:30, when they were supposed to meet Castle and Alexis. Glancing around quickly, Kate was easily able to spot them as Alexis' bright hair stood out. Kate pulled Kaylie along by her hand and made her way to the Castles.

Castle didn't notice the Becketts until they were a few feet away. He looked up and locked eyes with Kate. A huge grin broke over his face as he took her in.

"Kate!" Alexis exclaimed, running over and hugging the detective. Kate released Kaylie's hand as she hugged Alexis.

"Hey Alexis! Hey Castle."

"Hello Kate. Where is this lovely daughter of yours I've heard so much about?"

Kate looked down and was surprised to realize Kaylie wasn't beside her until she felt a small hand on the back of her leg. "Kaylie?" Kate asked, turning around and kneeling before her daughter. "What's wrong baby girl?"

"He's big!" Kaylie replied crowding into her mom. Due to Kaylie's small size, she often felt intimidated by tall men. She was normally very outgoing, but when tall men were involved, she got a little skittish.

Kate sighed, hugging her daughter to her. "Hey, remember how scared you were the first day of kindergarten, because Mr. LeRoy was tall?" Kaylie slowly nodded her head against Kate's chest. "Now you love it don't you? Didn't you tell me just the other day how he surprised your whole class with doughnuts for no reason?"

"Yeah, they were really good. He got some with icky jelly inside cuz he knew some kids liked those, but he also got some of the twisty kinda ones cuz he knew a lot of us don't like jelly in doughnuts."

"See, he turned out ok, didn't he? I can personally assure you that Mr. Castle is really nice as well. He's my new partner, and you know I would never partner up with a mean guy. He is really excited to meet you. His daughter, Alexis, is too. They are both super nice, you'll love them."

"Are you sure?" Kaylie asked peeking around Kate, "he's really big."

"Just because he's big, doesn't mean he's bad, trust me. Also, what about Uncle Roy? He's big. He's also friends with Mr. Castle, all your aunts and uncles are."

"Really? Even Tío Javi? He doesn't like no new guys. He always shoos them away."

"Yes, Tío Javi, Uncle Kevin, even Aunt Lanie."

"Even Aunt Lanie? She doesn't like ANY of your new guy friends, not even Demming. Everyone else liked him, even Tío Javi."

"Yeah, even Aunt Lanie. Think you can meet him now?"

Kaylie looked around Kate again, up at Castle. She saw him smiling down at the two of them. She looked back to Kate and nodded slightly, "Ok Mommy, I'll meet him."

Kate nodded and stood, turning around. She introduced Kaylie to Alexis and Castle. Alexis smiled brightly and said, "Hi," as did Castle.

Kaylie looked up shyly. "Hi Mr. Castle, hi Alexis."

**Now Kaylie and Castle have officially met. I hope you liked it. The next chapter will have even more Kaylie/Kate/Castle/Alexis interaction and fun. Please leave me a review letting me know what you think of this story so far, any mistakes you find, or any questions, suggestions, or requests. Thanks and love you all:)**


	14. Getting to Know Each Other

**Here is one more chapter for tonight. Hope you enjoy:)**

**Getting to Know Each Other**

"Sorry about that, Castle. I should have warned her. It didn't even cross my mind. "

"What was the problem, Kaylie's a bubbly, outgoing kid from what you've told me, why was she so nervous?"

"Did you hear our conversation?"

"No, I let that be a mother/daughter moment, seemed private."

"When has something seeming private ever stopped you before?" Kate asked looking up at him and winking. The two were leaning against one of the picnic tables that were scattered around the jungle gym. Alexis and Kaylie were running around playing with each other. "She doesn't like tall men," Kate continued, looking back to her daughter. "It's a size thing. She hates being and feeling small. I guess tall men intimidate her. Once she gets to know you, she'll be fine. I'm sorry I didn't warn you, it just didn't cross my mind. It should have, but it didn't."

"Hey, Kate, stop it. Don't beat yourself up. We all forget stuff every now and then. And look at her now. She's out there smiling, laughing, and playing with my daughter. She's fine. No harm done. Plus once she gets to know me better, she'll love me. I'm great with kids."

"Why, Castle? Because you never stopped being one?"

"Touché Detective, touché."

* * *

A few hours later, Kate and Castle called the two girls back to them. "Time to head home. We have a busy day tomorrow little one," Kate said.

"I'm not little!" Kaylie exclaimed.

"Whatever you say Kaylie-bug."

"Do we have to go?" Alexis questioned, looking up at Castle with wide, innocent eyes. "Kaylie and I were having so much fun."

"We do have to go, but we might be able to share a cab, if the detective here is ok with that."

"Sure, I think that could be arranged. Wait, where do you live?"

"Broome Street."

"That's the opposite direction from us. I-"

"It's fine, I'll pay."

"Castle, you don't have-"

"Kate, rich author person," Castle said, gesturing to himself. "I think I can afford it."

Kate glanced down at Alexis and Kaylie and saw their pleading faces. She could rarely say no to her daughter. Now that she was paired with Alexis, it was impossible to even contemplate saying no. "I... fine, Castle. Fine, let's go."

* * *

Ten minutes later the four were squished into the back of a cab headed to Kate's apartment. Alexis and Kaylie were sitting between the two adults, talking animatedly while Kate and Castle looked on.

Suddenly, Kaylie noticed something and turned to Kate. "Can we go visit grandma?"

Kate had also seen the cemetery. It was where her mother was buried. And, though Castle knew about her mom, she didn't think Alexis needed to be brought into that darkness. Kaylie didn't even know it was murder, she only knew that her grandma died before she was born. "Not today, Baby. We're visiting her next weekend with Grandpa. Remember?"

"But mommy… ok," Kaylie stopped whining when she saw the look on her mother's face.

Alexis watched the exchange with a curious eye. She quietly leaned up to her father and whispered in his ear, "why wouldn't Detective Beckett want to see here mama? I love getting visits from mine."

Castle looked over at Kate. He could tell she had been watching her words. He looked back to Alexis and smiled. "It's different for everybody, Pumpkin. You'll understand when you're older."

"Ok, Daddy," Alexis replied leaning into Castle as she turned back toward Kaylie. Soon the cab was pulling up to Kate's apartment building.

"Thanks for the ride, Castle," Kate said stepping onto the sidewalk. Kaylie crawled out after her.

"Bye Mr. Castle. Bye Alexis, it was nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you too, Kaylie," Castle replied, smiling. Alexis merely waved as she snuggled further into her dad, tired from all the running around.

* * *

Kaylie was easy to put to bed that night, having used up all her energy at the park with Alexis. "I'm taking you to school tomorrow morning. Grandpa's going to pick you up and drop you off at the precinct, ok, baby girl."

"Yay! I get to see my aunts and uncles tomorrow?" Kaylie sleepily asked.

"Yes, now go to sleep so tomorrow will come faster."

"Can you read me a story? Please? Just one?"

"Ok, which one do you want?"

"Cinderella?"

"Sure," Kate replied. She got up from where she had been sitting on the side of Kaylie's bed and walked to the bookshelf. She came back to the bed and sat down, leaning against the headboard. Kaylie was quick to snuggle up to her.

Kate read the story to the end. When she finished the happily ever after she glanced down and saw that Kaylie had fallen asleep against her chest.

Kate quietly set the book on the night stand and clicked the lamp off. She stayed where she was for a while, ensuring Kaylie was truly asleep and enjoying the feeling of holding her daughter.

* * *

The next day, Captain Montgomery told Kate to take an early and long lunch. He knew it was going to be Kaylie's first day back at the precinct. He figured Kate could go to lunch with her beforehand. Rick made his way towards the break room as Kate headed to the elevator, pulling out her phone. When she looked up and realized Castle wasn't with her, she called him back.

"Castle, you coming?"

"We'll, I, uh, sure. I just figured you'd want to have lunch with Kaylie by yourself."

"If you have somewhere else to be, feel free to go. I just thought there's no better way for her to get used to you than spending time with you."

Castle nodded having no argument to make against her logic. The two stepped onto the elevator. Castle pressed the button for the ground floor as Kate hit three on her speed dial.

"Hey Dad... No, yeah everything's fine... No, I just wanted to let you know that I'm going to pick Kaylie up... Captain gave me a long lunch. He knows Kaylie's coming back in today and thought I'd like to take her out to lunch before coming in... No, Castle's coming with me... My new partner... I invited him...no, Dad... Yes... No... Dad!... I gotta go, I'll talk to you later... Yeah, I love you too Dad. See you this weekend." Kate hung up the phone and leaned into the back wall of the elevator. "Sorry, Dad gets weird when I introduce new men to Kaylie. Always tries to bring up her dad. I've told him a thousand times, her dad's not coming back, but he still thinks I'm waiting for him."

"Are you?"

"Am I what?" Kate asked, confused by his question.

"Waiting for her dad to come back?"

"No, even if he did, I wouldn't want him. I've moved on. Kaylie helped me see that he was no good for me. He could have stuck around, but he chose to leave."

"Wait, he left you? He left her? What kind of man does that?"

"Well, he left me, but he never knew about Kaylie."

"You didn't tell him? What if he wanted to be a part of her life? Doesn't he deserve the right to know he fathered a child?" Castle asked, offended that she felt Kaylie's dad shouldn't have the right to meet her.

"No, he doesn't have the right. He chose to give up that right when he left a week after sleeping with me, ignoring and avoiding me for the week that he was there. Then to top it off, decided to ignore my calls when I tried to call to tell him about Kaylie. So no, I don't think he has the right to know her. He used me and hung me out to dry. I don't want that kind of man anywhere near my daughter."

"I'm sorry Kate. I didn't know," Castle said feeling sorry for his rash behavior.

"That's because I don't talk about her dad much. I don't want other people to know who he is, especially not Kaylie or the boys. The only person that knows who he is other than me is Lanie. The only reason she knows is that I told her about the one night stand before I knew it was a one night stand or that I was pregnant."

"Why don't you want the boys to know?"

"Because they'd track him down and beat him up. They've already threatened it without knowing who he is. If they knew it was HIM they'd go ballistic."

"What was so special about HIM?" Castle asked, emphasizing the 'him' just as Kate had done.

"They knew him, quite well. They let him leave, just like I did. If it was just some unknown one night stand, they couldn't have stopped him from leaving, but the fact that they knew him, worked with him, and let him leave? They'd be furious with him and themselves, regardless of the fact that he left long before any of us knew about Kaylie."

"Worked with him? So he's a detective as well?"

"Crap," Kate exclaimed dropping her head to the steering wheel. They had just pulled up to Kaylie's school and had a few minutes before the kids would come out. "I didn't mean to tell you that! You can't tell anyone. Please, promise me you won't tell anyone?"

"Of course, Kate. It's yours to tell, not mine."

"Thank you, so much." The school bell rang then and seconds later many students were rushing out the doors. Kate quickly got out and began looking for Kaylie.

From behind her she heard a screech of "Mama!" Turning around she found Kaylie running to her. She scooped her up and hugged her tight.

"Hey Baby. I thought I'd take you out to lunch before we head to the precinct."

"Yay!"

"And, I thought my partner would join us. You spent a lot of time with Alexis at the park, but not much with Castle. I figured this would help you get to know him better. He's waiting in the car."

Kaylie looked unsure, but nodded. Kate put her down and held her hand as the two made their way back to where Kate had parked the car. Kate easily buckled Kaylie into her car seat before getting in herself.

"So, where do we want to go for lunch?" Kate asked as she glanced in the rear view mirror.

"Can we go to Remy's ?" Kaylie asked quietly.

"Sure Kaylie-bug. That good with you, Castle?"

"'Course. You know Remy's is my favorite."

"Really?" Kaylie asked. "Mine too. They gots really good burgers and milkshakes."

"Yeah their milkshakes are the best. My favorite is the chocolate. What's yours?"

"Mommy's favorite is cherry. I like mixing half cherry and half chocolate. Tastes reeeeeally good."

"I've never tried that. But I might just have to give it a try if it's getting such rave reviews."

"You'll love it!" Kaylie sighed, sinking back in her seat.

**Ok, I'm gonna head to bed now, it's almost 3:30 in the morning here. Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought of it, any mistakes you find, and any requests/suggestions/questions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	15. Precinct Time

**Here is another chapter:)**

**Mischa: Thank you for the reviews. I'm glad you like this story and I appreciate the corrections. I'll try to work on that. Also there won't be anymore dialogue from the show, it's completely AU from now on. Thanks:)**

**Precinct Time**

Lunch went well. As promised, Castle tried Kaylie's chocolate-cherry shake. He agreed with Kaylie that it was good, but he still prefered his pure chocolate shake. Slowly but surely Kaylie opened up to Castle as she saw how comfortable her mom was with him.

As they got closer to the precinct, Kaylie's smile grew and she got more and more excited. By the time Kate pulled into the precinct, Kaylie was practically vibrating. After being released from her seat, she practically flew to the elevator and pressed the 'up' button. The doors opened just as Castle and Beckett reached Kaylie.

Kate had sent the boys a text before leaving Remy's so they should have hidden all of the pictures of dead bodies from Kaylie's view. While Kaylie knew that Kate investigated people that killed others, and thus investigated dead bodies, nobody at the precinct wanted to expose their precious little ray of sunshine to the cruelty of the world and what people could do to each other. Whenever Kaylie was coming, all pictures were hidden away until Kaylie was safely in the breakroom. She spent almost all of her time at the precinct in the breakroom, unless Kate and her team didn't have a case. If that was the case she would be allowed to come out and sit in the chair next to Kate's desk, though she would sometimes move it next to Ryan's or Esposito's desks. The chair she used was the one Castle had now claimed as his own. It would be interesting to see who would win command of that chair when they were both there and wanting to use it.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, Kaylie made a beeline towards the area her mother's desk resided in. She quickly spotted Esposito hunched over his desk working on some paperwork from the previous case. "Tío Javi!" Kaylie squealed, running over to him. Esposito turned around and stood up as she approached him. When she got close enough he scooped her up, laughing at her delighted squeal as he spun her around.

"¿Comó estás, Cariña?" (How are you, Sweetie?) Esposito asked once she had calmed down some.

"Estoy contenta," (I am happy) Kaylie replied with a tentative smile.

"Muy bien, Cariña, muy bien," (Very good, sweetie, very good) Esposito replied, making Kaylie's smile grow. She threw her arms around his neck from her perch in his arms and hugged him tightly. He returned the hug before placing her carefully back on the ground. As her feet touched the ground, Ryan came into view, exiting the breakroom.

Her cry of, "Uncle Kevin" quickly got his attention.

"Who is this?" he asked. "Have I met you before?"

"It's me, Kaylie!"

"You're my Creena? Are you sure? The last time I saw you, you were only this big," he said, allowing the Irish term of endearment to slip easily off his tongue as he pointed to her chest to demonstrate her height. When she looked down, he flicked his hand up, and flicked her nose.

"Uncle Kevin!" Kaylie sighed, rolling her eyes, just like her mother. "You saw me Wednesday when you brought me the soup Aunt Jenny made me to help me get better and my homework. Could you please tell her that it was very good and helped lots."

"Of course, Creena. She will be very happy to hear that."

"Uncle Kevin, do you think I could talk to Lucky the Leprechaun?" Kaylie asked innocently. "I haven't seen him in FOREVER." Kaylie batted her eyelashes imploringly.

"Not here, Creena. I'm at work," trying to avoid embarrassing himself at work.

"Ok, Uncle Kevin," Kaylie replied with a sad pout. "Maybe some other time."

Ryan sighed. He could never say 'no' to her. "Aye, Lass. Why the long face?" He asked, bringing out his Irish accent.

"YAY! Lucky, you're back!" Kaylie exclaimed as her smile returned in full force as she bounced up and down before throwing her arms around Ryan.

* * *

As Kaylie interacted with her two uncles, Kate and Rick stood by and watched.

"You guys really are a family, aren't you?" Castle questioned in awe of the sight before him.

"Yeah, I don't know what I would've done without them, Lanie, Jenny, and Montgomery. They have been honest-to-God life savers. They are always more than willing to look after Kaylie if I have work or an appointment. Between them and my dad, I've never had to pay for a babysitter. I've tried to pay them before, don't get me wrong, especially when she was a baby, but they refused. I've given up trying to get them to take the money."

"Who are Lanie and Jenny?"

"Lanie is one of the medical examiners we work with and my best friend. And between me and you, I think she and Javi have something going on. Jenny is Kevin's wife. They are adorable together. She works as a second grade teacher at Kaylie's school. They function as Kaylie's aunts."

"Sounds like Kaylie has an amazing family."

"She does, she really does," Kate replied smiling as she looked over to where her daughter was talking excitedly with Ryan. Kaylie soon rushed over.

"Mommy, mommy! Uncle Kevin said I could go over to his house after you guys are done with work so I can see Alfie!"

"On what condition?" Ryan asked coming up behind Kaylie at a more appropriate pace.

"As long as it is ok with you, Mommy."

"Let me talk to Uncle Kevin for a moment, ok Sweetie? Maybe you can show Mr. Castle the break room?"

"Ok. Come on Mr. Castle, this way. The grown ups wanna talk and I need a babysitter," Kaylie sighed, rolling her eyes.

Once the two were out of earshot, Kate turned to Ryan. "That girl is too smart for her own good sometimes. Anyways, are you sure you're ok with taking her?"

"Of course, Beckett. I was going to ask if you wanted her to stay the night. You know how she gets with Alfie. And this way, Jenny will be able to take her to school in the morning. It is on her way to work you know." Ryan said with a smile on his face, so proud of his stupid joke.

"You have a point about Alfie and Jenny. Ok. I'll go talk to Kaylie."

As Kate entered the break room she heard Kaylie telling Castle about Alfie. "He's adorable, and cute, and sweet, and loves to play, and makes the cutest noises. But the best part about him is how fluffy his hair is."  
"He sounds great," Castle replied, imagining a little baby that looked similar to Ryan. "How old is he?"

"Ummm… They got him about a month ago, I think."

"They adopted him then?"

"Yeah, he's so little. I feel bad that he's stuck at home all alone while Aunt Jenny's at school."

"Doesn't he have a babysitter?" Castle asked, concern lacing his voice.

"He doesn't need one. At least not according to Aunt Jenny and Uncle Kevin."

"Besides, he'd need a kitten sitter, not a babysitter," Kate smirked, making her presence known as she leaned against the doorframe. "Alfie is an adorable, fluffy, grey-striped kitten. He's almost three months old."

"Oh," Castle chuckled to himself. "That makes more sense."

"Thought so. Anyways, I need to talk to you, munchkin."

"Do I get to go?"

"Only if you do your homework. If you get it done, you get to spend the night with Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jenny."

"And Alfie?"

"Yes, Alfie will be there too. But you have to do your homework."

"Ok, I'll get it right now." Kaylie grabbed her bag and made her way towards her mother's desk. She would work on her homework at her mother's desk in case she needed help on her homework.

Kate moved towards the door as well and motioned for Castle to follow her.

"So she'll just sit there working until you guys are done?"

"No. Jenny picked up her homework from Thursday and Friday and Ryan brought it to me so that means she only has today's homework to do. That should take her no more than an hour, probably less."

"Really?"

"Well she's only in Kindergarten. Plus she's really smart," Kate said, the pride she felt in her daughter shining through.

"You have a point. She does seem to take after you in that way."

Kate blushed. "Come on, we need to get some work done before Kaylie finishes her homework."

"Why does it need to be done before she finishes?"

"She hasn't been here in weeks, the moment she finishes she is going to be sticking her nose in everyone's business and it'll be our job to reign her in. She usually hangs out in the breakroom and lets everyone come to her, but with how long she's been gone she is going to want to say hello to everyone."

"I can see her being like that."

"Yeah, everyone missed her and she missed them. Today will be worse than normal. It's why I don't like keeping her away for so long."

* * *

Kaylie finished her homework in a record forty-five minutes for the amount she had. She skipped around the bullpen smiling at every officer she saw. She then made her way back to her mother's desk.

"Whatcha doin' mama?" Kaylie asked.

Kate sighed, turning towards her daughter. "I'm working, sweetie."

"Yes, I did. All done. Can I help you?"

"Sure, baby. Why don't you look through this file and tell me what you think, who might have done it." Kate handed Kaylie a folder with a bright pink tab on the top.

"Thank you!" Kaylie smiled, strutting over to a small desk a little ways from Kate's desk and plopping the folder down and opening it up.

Castle watched the whole exchange in awe. "Did you just give your five-year-old daughter a case file to look at?" Castle could not believe that she would expose her daughter to those facts, especially considering she had hidden all of the pictures on the murder board.

"Its fake, Castle. Give me SOME credit. I keep one or two fake files on hand in case she wants to help. I'm surprised she chose to help today. I figured she would have wanted to talk with everyone, at least for a while. Especially after she spent almost an hour on her homework."

"Maybe she just wants to help her mom out because her mom does so much for her."

"Maybe… but there's usually an ulterior motive."

* * *

A short while later, Kate went to the break room to get coffee. She offered to get Castle one as well and he accepted.

Once she was out of earshot, Castle got up and walked over to Kaylie. "How are you doing?"

Kaylie glanced up at him. "It's goin' ok. I've got some ideas, I'm just trying to connect the pieces of the puzzle, at least that's what my mom calls it. I don't see how it's a puzzle or pieces 'cause it's just clues and facts, but that's what Mom always says when I ask what she's doing. It just means looking for connections."

"Do you want to be a detective when you grow up? Is that why you're helping your mom?"

Kaylie glanced towards the break room and didn't see her mom. She shifted her gaze back to Castle with a sad look in her eyes. "Mommy's been working a lot lately, I just figured if I help out, maybe we can spend some time together just the two of us. Since I haven't been able to see her here and then I was sick, me and mommy haven't had any time to just hang out."

"You know she tries to get home to you as quickly as she can though, right?"

Kaylie sighed, but nodded. "I know, but I still wanna spend time with my mommy. Being an adult must not be fun with all the work and stuff you have to do. I don't think I ever wanna grow up."

Castle chuckled. "When you get a little older, I think you'll change your mind. But, that's part of the reason I'm here, to help your mom get her work done faster so she can get home to you. It's what partners do."

"Then I guess I owe you a thank you. Mommy hasn't ever had a partner all to herself since I've been around. Uncle Kevin and Tío Javi are partners and mommy sometimes has to steal one of them away to be her partner for a while. She calls it 'sharing.'" Kaylie responded, using air quotes around the word sharing.

Castle looked towards the break room and saw Kate finishing up with the coffee. He looked back to Kaylie and the files laying on the desk in front of her. "So, any leads you want to run by me?"

"Well… I was thinking it might be this guy," Kaylie said as she pointed to a picture of a big man with curly brown hair and a wicked gleam in his eye, "because…"

* * *

Kate walked back into the bullpen to see Castle hunched over the file on Kaylie's desk. The sight was so cute it brought a smile to her face. Castle was amazing with kids. At first it shocked her, but then she remembered Alexis. He had raised that beautiful, wonderful little girl all on his own. There was also the fact that he acted like a nine-year-old on a sugar rush half the time. He himself was childlike, and kids could sense it and they were drawn to it.

As Kate sat the two coffees she was holding back on her desk, she glanced at the file open on her desk. Suddenly, a few pieces of the puzzle that was this case clicked together. "Hey Castle. Get over here, I think I know who did it."

Castle walked over and looked at what she was pointing at.

"Yeah, that's Kreeger's alibi. He was at the restaurant during the time of the murder."

"I know that, but look at the timestamp. More specifically look behind the timestamp."

When Castle focused directly behind the timestamp, he noticed the blurred out timestamp behind the more obvious one.

"Does that mean what I think it means? That this has been tampered with and he doesn't really have an alibi?"

"I think it does Castle. I'll get this to tech and see if they can get the original timestamp back.

"Mommy?" Kaylie asked timidly.

"What is it Kaylie-Bug?" Kate asked bending down to Kaylie's level.

"I think I figured out who did this one too. Was it this guy?"

Kate glanced down at the picture Kaylie was holding. She knew Kaylie was right, but had to play along. "What is your reasoning?" Kaylie quickly explained how she had come to her conclusion.

"Well, it all sounds pretty good to me. Why don't you write up a quick summary and give it to Tío Javi, ok? I'm going to run this down to tech and then we can go home and have some girl time and pack a bag before you go to Uncle Kevin's. That sound like a plan?'

"Ok Mommy."

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter:) Please leave me a review letting me know what you think, any mistakes you find, or if you have any questions/requests/suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	16. Play Dates and Pseudo Dates

**Another chapter for all you lovelies:)**

**Guest: Thank you. I was hoping people would like this story and the fact that people are makes me want to write more. So thank you.**

**Play Dates and Pseudo Dates**

Kate finished quickly, sent Castle home, and told Montgomery she was leaving. Esposito and Ryan were planning on staying for a few more hours. It was only 4:00 and they wanted to catch up on some paper work. Ryan made plans to stop by Kate's to pick Kaylie up on his way home. Kaylie and Kate would have two to three hours to spend together before then. Once they got to their apartment they quickly packed Kaylie's bag so it would be ready when Ryan got there.

"So, what do you wanna do?" Kate asked, sitting on Kaylie's bed.

"Can we do our nails, mama?"

"Of course Kaylie-Bug. Go pick out the colors."

"What color do you want?"

"Surprise me."

Kaylie walked over to her shelf and pulled out the box of nail polish. It was on the bottom shelf so she simply slid it to the floor and plopped down in front of it. As Kate looked on, she couldn't help but think that Kaylie looked similar to Anna after Elsa knocks her off the bed in the movie _Frozen_.

Kaylie grabbed a few bottles of different colors and made her way back to Kate. "I want these two," Kaylie said holding out a hot pink and a blue. "And these for you," she said, holding out a yellow, a red, and an orange."You can do the tie-dye pattern thing right?"

"Sure, if you can grab me the white, please, I will be able to do that."

"Yay! They always look so pretty when you do them."

* * *

Two and a half hours of nail painting, makeovers, talking, and laughing later, Ryan knocked on the door. Kaylie pulled the door open giggling. "Hi Uncle Kevin. Wait 'til you see mommy. She looks so funny!" Kaylie burst into uncontrollable giggles.

Ryan slowly walked into the living room of the apartment. When his eyes landed on Kate, he had to forcefully hold back his chuckles. Kaylie had done her makeup and made it very colorful, to say the least.

Kate's cheeks were bright pink, her lips a dark purple, her right eye was green and gold and her left eye was blue and purple. She vaguely looked like she had a black eye. She looked up at Ryan and saw his red face. The glare she sent him was enough to sober him.

"Just here to pick up my Creena." Ryan said glancing down at Kaylie.

"She's all yours then." Kate said walking towards Kaylie. She knelt down in front of her. "Be good for Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jenny. I will pick you up from school tomorrow and you can come into the precinct again, ok?"

"Ok mommy. I'll be my bestest. I love you lots and lots."

"And I love you tons and tons." Kaylie threw her arms around her mother's neck. "Have fun baby." Kate said standing up and walking the two to the door.

Once the door was shut and Kate was alone she turned to look at her apartment. 'Now what?' Kate asked herself. She hadn't had a night to herself in quite a while, not that she was complaining. She knew Ryan, Esposito, Lanie, and her dad were more than happy to take Kaylie. Still, with all the time she spent at work, Kate felt that she didn't spend enough quality time with her daughter.

Glancing around her apartment, Kate decided reading sounded like a good way to spend the rest of her day.

* * *

About two hours and 10 chapters later, Kate heard a knock on her door. She glanced at the time. 8:11. Not too late, but not too early either. She wasn't expecting anyone, so she cautiously made her way to the door. She looks through the people of her door and saw none other than Castle.

She unlocked the door and swung it open. "what are you doing here, Castle?"

"Well, I knew Kaylie was staying at Ryan's tonight so I figured you could use some company. I even brought dinner," Castle smiled, holding up a bag of takeout. "I hope Chinese is good for you."

"Umm, sure, I guess. Come on in," Kate replied opening the door wider to allow Castle to enter. "I'll go get plates, make yourself comfortable," Kate said gesturing toward the living room and subsequently the couch.

Castle sat the bag of food down on the coffee table and sat down on the couch. Glancing around, he noticed a book laying pages down over the opposite arm of the couch. Curious, he scooted over until he could see the title. What he saw made him smile.

Kate quickly grabbed two plates and two sets of chopsticks from the kitchen before making her way to the living room. When she got there Castle had a mischievous grin on his face and twinkle in his eye. It made her nervous. She hadn't worked with Castle for very long, but she knew how his mind worked. She approached slowly, wary of any trick or trap Castle may have set.

"Read anything good lately?" Castle asked with a smirk.

Kate glanced down at the book on the arm of the couch. Of course he'd seen it. He was observant to the point of snooping at times.

"Not really," she replied with a smirk of her own. "Just some book by an old, nine-year-old on a sugar rush, playboy writer."

At that, Castle's smirks faded. "I am not old! And I am NOT a playboy," he pouted, emphasizing the not.

"Castle, having a different girl at every party and signing chests is basically the definition of being a playboy, and that's what you do!"

"I don't know those women, the PR people set me up with them for parties, I don't sleep with them. Despite my image of being a playboy, I've only been with five women in my entire life and we were in committed relationships when it happened. I will not deny that signing chests does sound like a playboy thing to do, but I can't say no when they ask. I've tried, but my agent gets mad. She says that it disrupts my image. The only time I was allowed to say no was when I was married or in a committed public relationship."

There was a brief awkward silence during which Kate just looked down and Castle glanced around more. "I think the food's getting cold," Castle broke the silence, nodding towards the food.

Kate continued to the couch sitting down and placing the plates and utensils on the coffee table. Castle opened the bag and began pulling out boxes of Chinese. The two dished out what they wanted and began eating. The silence still reigned and Kate felt guilty.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you."

"It's okay. It was a reasonable conclusion based on how I act in public. We haven't really worked together all that long."

The two finished their food, idly chatting and sharing stories. By the time they finished eating, it was pretty late. Kate knew Castle would need to be heading home soon and was, to her surprise, saddened by the idea of their night ending.

"I should be getting home. Alexis will be getting worried if she's not in bed. And mother will be getting into my liquor cabinet if she is."

"Yeah, it is pretty late," Kate said. The duo got up and headed towards the door.

"We should do this again sometime. Maybe go out someplace nice."

"Like a date? Is the great Richard Castle asking me out on a date?"

"Maybe I guess it all depends on what you answer is."

"I think it would be fun. When were you thinking?"

"Ummmm... Would tomorrow work?" Castle asked, scratching the back of his head. "If you already have plans, I totally understand."

When Castle suggested the next day, Kate felt excited. He really was serious about wanting to date her. Looking at him, she could see how nervous he was. Almost as if he didn't think she would say yes. Kate found it adorable that she made him nervous.

"I have work tomorrow, but I'm sure I will be off by 6:00 and my dad should be able to take Kaylie. I will have to check with both of them though. Kaylie may not want me to go since she's spending tonight at Kevin and Jenny's," Kate said with a frown. She really wanted to go out with Castle the next night, but she had to put her baby girl first.

"Well, why don't you bring her along? I could bring Alexis. It won't be the most traditional date, but it could still be a lot of fun."

"I think Kaylie would like that. She keeps asking when she can see Alexis again. Just, nothing fancy ok?"

"Of course not. The kids would be miserable. So, we'll pick you up at 7:30? Or would 8:00 be better?"

"Better do 7:30, the earlier the better. Depending on what Kaylie does at school, she can end up falling asleep at 8:30 or she can be up until midnight refusing to go to bed because she's not tired."

"Is 7:30 okay? We could wait until the weekend if that would be better?"

"No, 7:30 should work, I'll just make sure she takes a nap after lunch."

"Okay then."

"Okay." The two stood at Kate's door smiling at each other. They were broken from the trance when Castle's phone rang.

He pulled it out and frowned. Pressing the ignore button he looked at that Kate. "Until tomorrow detective."

"Good night, Castle. Have a safe trip home."

**There you go, Castle and Beckett had their first almost date. Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought of it, any mistakes you find, or if you have any questions/suggestions/requests. Thanks and love you all:)**


	17. Kaylie's Take on Castle

**Another chapter for all you lovelies:) I hope you enjoy:)**

**Guest: Typically you would have to, but depending on when your birthday is you can sometimes get in when you are four-years-old. Also Kaylie is really smart for her age, so let's just roll with it. Honestly I wasn't thinking when I made her four and in Kindergarten, sorry about that.**

**Ib: Kaylie just happens to be really smart for her age. Plus homework for kindergarteners tends to be easy and fun stuff that involves coloring and the like, so it wouldn't be that out of the question that Kaylie would be able to do it. I get that she does seem a bit advanced for a four-year-old, and I've tried to make her seem like an authentic four-year-old, but keep in mind that she is really smart for her age. All I ask is that you kind of roll with it, I'm not the best at writing little kids. Thanks.**

**Kaylie's Take on Castle**

As Kate sat in her car in front of Kaylie's school waiting to pick her up the next day, her mind wandered to Castle. She couldn't help but wonder what their date would be like tonight. She'd never dated a man with the kid before, nor had she brought Kaylie on a date with her. Thinking back, she realized she'd never gone on an outing with her daughter and her boyfriend. Even when she was dating Will, the three of them had never gone out all together. Sure, they had spent time together at her house, but they had never gone out, not even to dinner. If they were all together, they ordered in.

When she really thought about it, that may have been their problem. She kept Kaylie in one box and Will in another and didn't really allow the two to interact without her. Hopefully that would mean she and Castle would last.

That thought took Kate by surprise. She and Castle weren't even officially together and she was hoping they would last longer than the six months she had spent with Will.

As Kate continued to stare out the window at the school she saw the whole area get overrun with kids. Kate got out of the car and made her way towards the building. She waved to Mrs. Grayson, the teacher on duty to watch the kids.

Kate made her way past all the kids and parents and into the school. Whenever Kaylie stayed with Jenny and Ryan she would wait in Jenny's classroom so Kate could help her with her bags and thank Jenny.

Kate made her way to Jenny's room and heard Jenny and Kaylie talking. She paused, not wanting to interrupt and also wanting to hear what her daughter was saying.

"So, what you think of Mr. Castle?" Jenny asked.

"He's fun. And he makes mommy happy. When mommy is happy that makes me happy. She smiles more than she did before. Plus it's safer having a partner. Right?"

"Yes, but what do you think of him? I know how your mom feels about him, but how do you feel?"

"I like him, I guess. He's nice and hasn't done anything mean. I wanna spend more time with him. He and Alexis are lots of fun."

"So you like Alexis?"

"Of course Aunt Jenny. She's like me. She loves to read and play games just like me. She's not mean to me 'cuz I'm littler than her. She like, doesn't ignore me when I don't get stuff. She just splains it to me. I like her."

It was then Kate decided to make her presence known.

"Has anyone seen my little munchkin?" Kate asked, stepping into the room and looking around.

"Mommy!" Kaylie exclaimed, running over and throwing herself into Kate's open arms. Kate swung her around before placing her back on the ground.

"Did you have fun at Aunt Jenny's?"

"Yeah! I played with Alfie a whole lot. He's so cute! And he's getting bigger all the time! He's like this big now." Kaylie demonstrated the kitten's size with her hands.

"How cute. Were you good for Uncle Kevin and Aunt Jenny?"

"Of course!"

"Okay, then go get your stuff together so we can head to the precinct."

"Okay mommy. I'll be right back," Kaylie made her way over to her things and began putting all her belongings into her backpack.

Kate walked over to Jenny. "So, how was she really?"

"The perfect little angel she always is. She knows if she misbehaves she won't get to play with Alfie, so she minds herself," Jenny replied with a smile. The two adults looked over to where Kaylie was almost done packing her bag.

Kate smiled at her daughter. She was the spitting image of Kate when she was young. Kate could never get over how smart Kaylie was. Even now, she was neatly putting her things away in her bag. Kate had long ago explained that stuffing things in, like most kids do, was a great way to lose or break things and that it would be harder to fit all the things she needed into her bag. Kate was amazed. She had no idea how she had managed to raise such a wonderful little girl all on her own. Well, when she thought about it, her dad and friends had been a tremendous help and she probably wouldn't have been able to do any of this on her own.

Kate was pulled from my thoughts as Kaylie grabbed her hand. "Time to go, Mommy?"

"Say, 'thank you' to Aunt Jenny and then it will be."

"Thank you Jenny. I had lots of fun with you, and Uncle Kevin, and Alfie."

Kaylie went over to Jenny and gave her a big hug. Then it was Kate's turn. She also hugged Jenny. "Thank you for everything," Kate whispered into Jenny's ear. She was thanking her for watching Kaylie the previous night, but also for all the other times, as well as the conversation she had overheard .Kate just knew that Jenny would make a great mother one day.

Kate was quick to take Kaylie's hand and bag before ushering Kaylie out the door waving goodbye to Jenny on the way out.

**So, now we know that Kaylie likes Castle and Alexis as friends, but what will she think of Castle and her mom dating? You'll soon find out:)**

**Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought, any mistakes/questions, or if you have any requests/suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	18. Date Prep

**One last chapter tonight. I won't be able to update until later tomorrow. I have to take my mom to the airport at 4 in the morning and then I have work. Hope you all have a great night:)**

**Date Prep**

Kate strapped Kaylie into her booster seat and climbed into the car herself. "Guess what we are doing tonight?" Kate asked Kaylie.

"Going to the moon?"

"No," Kate sighed. For some reason her daughter had become obsessed with the idea of going to the moon. Apparently Kaylie was determined that she or her mother would get married there. It was times like when she heard that suggestion that she wondered where Kaylie came up with some of her ideas. "We are going out with Castle and Alexis."

"Yay!" Kaylie's approval calmed Kate. She had been slightly worried Kaylie wouldn't want to spend more time with them.

"Where are we going?" Kaylie asked, still excited.

"I don't know. Castle's going to pick us up at 7:30 and take us wherever he's picked."

* * *

Kate walked Kaylie directly into the break room once they had entered the precinct after lunch.

"You need to lay down on the couch and take a nap. Okay?"

"But mommy, I'm not tired."

"You might not be now, but you will be later tonight if you don't take a nap. You don't want to fall asleep while were out with Castle and Alexis do you?"

Kaylie sighed. She knew her mom was right, she was very logical. That didn't mean, however, that she was happy about missing out on precinct time with uncle Kevin and Tío Javi. "Couldn't I take a nap later?"

"Could you please do it now? For Mommy? That way I can get all my work done and help your uncles so we'll have plenty of time to spend with you. Does that sound okay?"

"Okay Mommy," Kaylie agreed, climbing onto the couch and laying down.

"Thank you, Kaylie–bug. Sweet dreams." Kate kiss her forehead before dimming the lights and closing the door behind her.

* * *

"Where are we going tonight Daddy?" Alexis asked.

"It's a surprise, pumpkin."

"But Kate and Kaylie will be there, right? You said they would be."

"Yes. Kate and Kaylie will be there. We're going to pick them up at 7:30 so I need you to go get ready please."

"Okay Daddy, but one question first. Is this a date?"

"Yes, it is."

"Then why are Kaylie and I going?"

"That is a second question. I thought you only had one?"

"Don't be so picky Daddy. Please just answer the question."

"It's my job to be picky, as your father and as a writer. Also, we love the two of you and want to keep it somewhat toned down. Plus Kaylie probably wouldn't want to spend a second night in a row away from Kate."

"Where was she last night?"

"Remember Kevin Ryan, one of the detectives Kate works with? She spent the night with him his wife, Jenny, and their kitten, Alfie."

"They have a kitten?!" Alexis was 10 and simply adored almost any baby animal.

"Yeah, apparently he's fluffy and grey. Now please go get ready, I don't want to be late picking them up."

"Okay Daddy. But what should I wear?" Alexis also happened to be somewhat of a fashion queen. She loved giving makeovers and getting dressed up.

"Just wear something comfortable. Don't do anything fancy, you know I'm not going to take the two of you somewhere you're just going to be miserable. You might like to dress up for short amounts of time, but when you want to play with Kaylie you won't want to be in fancy clothes."

"Okay Daddy." With that Alexis skipped to her room closing the door and getting herself ready.

Castle smiled to himself as he thought of his plans for the night. He just hoped Kate and Kaylie would like it as much as he imagined Alexis and himself would.

**The next chapter will be their date. Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought, any mistakes/questions, or any requests/suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	19. The Date

**This is the last chapter I have finished writing. I am working on chapter 20 right now, and will hopefully still be able to do daily posts, but I may end up doing every other day. I promise I will do my very best not to do less than once a week. However, once college starts at the end of August, I have no guarantees of how often I'll post until I get in a routine. Hope you enjoy:)**

**Eliana K: Thank you for your review. 1. I'll keep an eye on my tenses. 2. As you said I already addressed Kaylie's age so I won't go into that again. 3. Kaylie is in kindergarten which can be a half day type thing and that is what Kaylie does. She only goes to school in the morning, kind of like a half day for older students. 4. I had put my own page breaks in, but now that I look back I see that they didn't save, so I will go back and put the in again, thank you for bringing that to my attention. Thank you again:)**

**The Date**

At exactly 7:30 Kate heard a knock on her door. Kaylie beat her there and was attempting to reach the dead bolt. Kate in turn grabbed her around the middle and spun her around. "What do you think you're doing," she whispered in Kaylie's ear.

Kaylie squealed with laughter. Kate sat her down and looked through the peephole. Seeing that it was Castle and Alexis, she opened the door with a smile. "Hey guys. Come on in."

"Finally! We've been standing out here for like 10 minutes cuz he," Alexis gestured towards Castle, "didn't want to be early. Said he didn't want to interrupt you if you were still getting ready because women are always running late for dates."

"Hey you're a poet and don't even know it," Kaylie grinned. She grabbed Alexis's hand pulling her out of the room. "I wanna show you my room." The two scampered away leaving Kate and Castle standing by the door.

"These are for you," Castle said pulling a beautiful bouquet of flowers out from behind his back.

Katie gasped. "They're beautiful! Thank you." She took the flowers and walked to her kitchen. "Just let me put these in some water."

Castle waited awkwardly by the door for a minute before following Kate. When he looked in the kitchen doorway he saw Kate, her eyes closed and nose buried in the flowers. When she pulled them away he saw she had the most serene smile on her face. He vowed then, to do whatever he could to make her smile like that again.

Kate turned around and placed the flowers in the vase on the counter. When she turned back around she saw castle leaning against the door frame. "So Castle, do you plan on telling me where it is you're taking my daughter and I tonight?"

"No. You're just going to have to trust me."

Just as Kate open mouth to reply, Kaylie and Alexis ran into the room. "Can we go now?" Alexis asked, smiling up at her father.

"Sure Pumpkin, if Kate and Kaylie are ready."

"Yes, just let me grab my purse," Kate replied. She walked out of the kitchen and into her bedroom.

"Mr. Castle?" Kaylie looked up at Castle. "Where we going? Mommy wouldn't tell me."

"That's probably because she doesn't know. It's a surprise. I'm the only one who knows."

"Won't you tell me though? I'll keep it a secret." Kaylie smiled innocently up at Castle hoping to persuade him to tell her wife her puppy dog eyes.

That was the scene Kate walked into after grabbing her purse.

"Okay everyone. Let's head out," Kate said. Hopefully it would distract Kaylie. Kate also wanted to know where they were going, but hoped the drive would distract her somehow.

* * *

The further they got from home, the more confused Kate got. Kaylie and Alexis were talking and laughing in the back, oblivious to where they were heading.

"Seriously Castle, where we going?"

"We are almost there, Kate. Stop worrying so much, it's not like I sit around thinking how to kill people. Oh, wait, I do." Castle smirked back at Kate before looking at the road once more.

A few minutes later Castle broke the silence that'd fallen between Beckett and himself. "Here we are."

Kate looked out the window. "Ice cream?"

"And a walk on the beach," Castle replied pointing to the beach just a short walk away.

The four got out of the car and went into the ice cream shop. Castle ordered a very sugary chocolate ice cream topped with sprinkles, chocolate sauce, Oreo pieces, and brownie chunks in a bowl. Alexis ordered Rocky Road on a cone. Kaylee had one scoop of chocolate and one of strawberry with chocolate sauce in a bowl. Kate ordered a strawberry cone.

After collecting their respective treats and Castle paying, they journeyed out to the beach. Kaylie and Alexis were quick to finish their ice cream before running down the beach playing in the sand and at the edge of the water.

Kate and Castle were slower eating their ice cream as they walked along the water's edge, shoes discarded near the girls and pants rolled up to keep them dry. Castle, unsurprisingly finished first and threw his bowl away. He and Kate continued to walk and talk as the sun set over the water.

"You know," Kate said breaking the comfortable silence that had fallen between the two, "this is like a scene from a movie."

Castle chuckled, "it kind of is." He looked over to her. She just finished her cone and Castle noticed she had a spot of pink ice cream on her cheek. "You have a little," he gestured to the spot.

Kate attempted to wipe it off but missed.

"Here let me," Castle said stepping closer to wipe her cheek off with his finger. It was then that Kate looked up at him.

The two looked at each other for a moment. Kate's gaze flickered to his lips and back to his eyes. They started to lean closer. They were only an inch apart and then. . .

"Mommy, look what I found!" Kaylie yelled, running over and breaking the moment. Kate took a quick step away from Castle, distancing herself and turning towards Kaylie.

Castle sighed inwardly before plastering a smile to his face and turning to Kaylie as well. Kids just have the perfect timing sometimes.

**So, they almost kissed, but don't forget they have two little kids with them. Plus, when has anything ever been easy for Caskett? Please leave me a review letting me know what you think, any questions/mistakes you find, or any suggestions/requests. I will try to include any request I get, but do have a general direction this is going, so some things may not be possible. Thanks and love you all:)**


	20. The Date Part 2

**Hey guys, so I just edited this. I had already posted it without editing it since it was so late when I finished. I hope you all enjoy:)**

**Mischa: Thank you. I want any constructive criticism you all have for me, it's one of the only things that will help me grow as a writer. Thank you for your kind words, it is reviews like yours that keep me writing:)**

**The Date Part 2**

"What you have there Kaylie?" Kate asked bending down to Kaylie's level.

"Look Mommy. I found a purple shell. It's your favorite color."

"Isn't that pretty!"

"Yeah. It's for you," Kaylie replied handing the shell to Kate before running back to Alexis.

"That was sweet," Castle said. He took Kate's hand and the two continued to walk down the water's edge.

"Normally, this is how I end the date, but I figured we should start with it since the girls don't need to eat ice cream right before bed," Castle said.

"Thanks for thinking of them. This would be the perfect end to a date."

Castle glanced at his watch. "We should get going. We don't want to stay here too late and miss the rest of the date."

"Where are we going?" Kate asked, genuinely curious and hoping he'd finally tell her something.

"I haven't told you anything yet, why would I ruin the surprise now?"

Kate sighed, but helped Castle gather the girls and their belongings.

* * *

After a short drive inland, Castle pulled up at the destination.

"Here we are"

"An arcade?" Kaylie and Alexis squealed.

"Isn't this the one Ben owns?" Alexis asked.

"Yes, Pumpkin. Now let's go. Time to have some fun." The quartet got out of the car and made their way inside.

"Who's Ben?" Kate asked.

"An old friend. I met him while doing some research. I was trying to figure out how someone could be killed in arcade. I decided it was actually too gruesome to write. I love arcades and didn't want to think of murder every time I went to one. Ben agreed to stay open late for us tonight. I just have to lock up when we leave. The machines are set so you can play without putting in any money."

"Wow, you thought of everything. Thank you for this. I'm sure Kaylie is going to have a ball."

"And you? Do you think you'll enjoy yourself?" Castle asked hopefully.

"Yes, I think I'll have a great time beating you at all the games." Kate smiled flirtatiously at him before walking to the nearest game, adding an extra sway to her hips.

* * *

The two played game after game. Kate won some, Castle won others. The whole time the two kept a flirtatious banter going.

After about an hour, Kaylie and Alexis were fading fast. Kate and Castle approached the last game.

"Well, looks like we're tied," Castle said.

"Yes, and this is the last game. We'll have to head home to get them into bed after," Kate replied, nodding to where Kaylie and Alexis were sitting on the floor. Kaylie was already asleep, but Alexis was still valiantly trying to keep her eyes open.

"Then shall we see who the true arcade master is?"

"Let's see. PACMAN? I think I can take you."

"You do realize I grew up with PACMAN, right? This game WAS my childhood, when I wasn't holed up in the library or backstage at one of mother's shows."

"Right, I forgot you're ancient," Kate giggled back.

"Oh, now it's on Kate. Prepare to meet your match." Castle selected the two player option and the two began playing.

Partway through, Castle looked up at Kate and saw how much fun she was having. He also knew how happy she would be if she won. So, of course, Castle did the gentlemanly thing and lost on purpose. He did not, however, make his purposeful loss obvious.

"Yes!" Kate exclaimed upon winning. "I won, I actually won! Who's the arcade master? That would be me," Kate smiled happily, throwing her arms around Castle's neck in a tight hug.

Castle, in turn, wrapped his arms securely around her waist, holding her to him, and savoring the moment.

After a moment, Kate pulled away. She looked at Castle in a way similar to their near kiss on the beach. She quickly took a step back. "We should, um, head home," Kate said. "The girls have school tomorrow, and I have work. You have... whatever it is you do. It's late."

"Yeah, we should get going Arcade Master," Castle joked.

Castle helped Alexis to her feet and supported her as he walked her to the car.

Kate roused Kaylie. "Come on Baby Girl. Time to go home, ok?"

"Ok Mommy," Kaylie replied sleepily, lifting her arms so Kate could pick her up. "I'm sleepy Mommy."

"I know, baby. That's why we're going home. You can sleep in the car too, ok?"

"Night night Mommy."

"Sleep well."

* * *

Since Castle's loft was between the arcade and Kate's appartment, Castle stopped by to drop Alexis off, so she could go to bed. His mother was staying with him, so Alexis wouldn't be alone.

No words were spoken on the way to Kate's apartment so as not to wake Kaylie.

When they got to Kate's building, Castle offered to take Kaylie. Kate was hesitant, but she was tired and Kaylie was dead to the world.

"Okay, thank you," Kate said. Castle taking Kaylie up also meant she and Castle would get to spend a few more minutes together. She didn't know what it was about Castle, but she just felt drawn to him. Once in her apartment, Kate took Kaylie from Castle's arms and put her to bed.

When she returned, she found Castle still standing in her front hall. "Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow detective"

"I guess you will."

"Until tomorrow," Castle said, moving closer to the door.

"Why can't you just say 'night?'"

"I'm a writer and until tomorrow is more hopeful."

"Well, I'm a cop. Night." Kate walked Castle to the door. Castle walked out and headed down the hall, towards the elevator. "Hey Castle," Kate said.

He turned around to find Kate directly in front of him. "Wha-" Castle started. He was cut off by Kate's lips pressed to his.

After a few seconds, Kate pulled back. "Have a nice night," she smirked before walking back to her apartment and shutting the door.

Castle stood in the middle of the hallway. Flustered, he fluttered his hands at his mouth, dazed at what just happened.

Kate, for her part, was leaning against the door, smiling. The only thought going through her head was 'wow.'

**Ok so as you can tell, I took some bits and pieces from some episodes and added it in there. Also, we got the first Caskett kiss of the story. What will happen next? Even I don't know at the moment. ;) Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought, any questions/mistakes you find, or if you have a suggestion/request. Thanks and love you all:)**


	21. Beckett's New Man

**Sorry it's been so long guys:( Work has given me crazy hours and my mom was out of town. Anyways I had a meeting at work and then had like 3 hours before my shift started so I finished this chapter and started on the next one. Hopefully it'll be done and posted tomorrow:) Hope you all enjoy:)**

**Guest: Your wish is my command:) Here is more:)**

**Beckett's New Man**

The next day, Kate dropped Kaylie off at school and headed to work.

Until a new murder came in, all there was to do, was paperwork. Kate had finished hers the previous night, but was in such a good mood from her date, she decided she would help Esposito and Ryan with some of their paperwork.

After about an hour, Ryan and Esposito finally confronted her.

"So, Beckett, who's the lucky guy?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah, Beckett, do we know him?" Esposito asked.

Beckett looked up in surprise. "What are you guys talking about?"

"You're doing our paperwork," Esposito pointed out.

"With a smile on your face," Ryan added.

"So that means what? That I had a date?"

"Well, yeah," Ryan said.

"Did it occur to you that maybe I reconnected with an old friend from college, had dinner with my dad, or maybe just had a great night or morning with Kaylie? It had to be a date? Really?"

"Well… Okay maybe it wasn't a date. What was it then?" Ryan asked.

"I had a great night out with Kaylie. We went to the beach and the arcade. Any other questions?"

"No," the boys said, turning back to their desks and resuming their work.

Kate had texted Castle that morning, telling him that she wanted to keep whatever relationship was forming between the two of them secret for a while. He agreed. After all, this is technically an office romance. You don't need all the outside influence on a new relationship. The only people who they would tell when they figured out what they were was Alexis, Kaylie, Martha, and Jim.

Another reason Kate wanted to keep the relationship secret was the rules. The precinct had rules against coworkers dating. Though Castle technically didn't work for the precinct, it was still possible that Montgomery could ban Castle and/or fire Kate. Though it was unlikely Kate would be fired, both Kate and Castle wanted to make sure nothing would happen. They also wanted to make sure that they were serious before they risked Kate's job, or Castle's involvement.

Kate had no doubt that she and Castle would be serious in the future, but they were still in the "getting-to-know-you" phase. From what she had seen, she had no doubt that she would continue to like what she saw in Castle.

Castle had the nine-year-old on a sugar rush side that could be quite annoying, but also kind of sweet and endearing. Then there was his caring father side that was so charming and appealing to Kate as she had Kaylie. Then there was the serious, crime solving side when they dealt with the victims' families or were facing a challenging case. Finally there was the fun-loving side. This side was very similar to the nine-year-old on a sugar rush, just slightly more mature. The nine-year-old was simply annoying, liked to touch things he probably shouldn't, and didn't know when enough was enough. The fun-loving side was what she had seen on their date and she couldn't wait to find out what other sides he may be hiding.

* * *

It was about noon when Castle strolled into the bullpen with two cups of coffee. He sat one on Kate's desk before walking to the break room. On his way to Kate's desk he had noticed Ryan and Esposito there.

"She wouldn't go back to him. Do you remember how devastated she was when he left?" Ryan asked Esposito.

"Exactly," Esposito said. "Maybe that's why she doesn't want to tell us who he is, because we would disapprove."

"I doubt it."

"So, what are you boys talking about?" Castle questioned, making his presence known and taking a sip of his coffee.

"Who Beckett's new man is," Esposito said, causing Castle to do a spit take.

"Her new man? What do you mean?"

"She came in this morning, smiling and happy. She even helped us with our paperwork," Ryan said.

"The only time she does this is when she's dating a new guy," Esposito said.

"Or when Kaylie learns or does something new."

"Plus when we asked her why she was so happy she said she just had a great night at the beach and arcade with Kaylie. There is no way she would be that happy from just the beach and/or the arcade."

"So that means she must have a new man? Castle asked.

"Yeah. We are trying to figure out who it could be. She must be ashamed of who it is if she doesn't want to tell us."

"Ryan over there, thinks it's Demming, a robbery detective here at the 12th," Esposito said.

"And Espo thinks it's Will. He used to work here, but got offered a job with the FBI. He wanted Kate to go with him, but she wanted him to stay. He said it was his shot and he had to go. He couldn't understand that Kate can just move Kaylie all the way to Boston. That's why she would never get back with him," Ryan explained.

And she would never get back with Demming because she broke up with him and he hasn't left. If she wanted to be with him she never would've broken up with him."

"Oh, so where is Beckett anyway?" Castle asked.

"She should be back soon. She went to pick Kaylie up from Kindergarten."

"Ah, okay," Castle said, looking out the window, waiting for Kate.

**There you have it. The boys know something's up, but they don't suspect Castle. Seems like good news for Caskett right? Well, we'll see. As always please leave me a review letting me know what you thought of it, any mistakes you find, or any questions/requests/suggestions you have. Thanks and love you all:)**


	22. Seats and Secrets

**Here is another chapter. I have a question for all of you. Do you guys want to see Josh and/or Gina show up? I have some ideas for how I might use Josh, but not Gina yet. Leave me a review to let me know what you think:) Also, I hand write all my chapters before I type them. While writing this chapter I had to get out a new notebook because I filled the first one, so that's exciting. Hope you enjoy:)**

**Guest: Thanks and here's the next chapter:)**

**Seats and Secrets**

Kate walked into the bullpen holding Kaylie's hand. "So, remember, you can't tell anyone that Castle and Alexis were at the beach or arcade with us, okay?"

"Okay, Mommy. But why?" Kaylie questioned.

"Because, Castle and I are keeping it secret, kind of like when I go undercover."

"Okay," Kaylie smiled. She skipped over to Kate's desk before frowning. "Mr. Castle," Kaylie said, gaining his attention.

"What is it Ms. Beckett?"

"You are in my seat. That is where I always sit when I'm here with Mommy and not in the break room or working on a case for her."

"Well, this is where I've been sitting since I started working with your mommy. So, what are we going to do about this?"

"You could do the gen-tle-man-ly thing and give me my seat back."

"I guess I could," Castle smiled at Kaylie's struggle with the word gentlemanly. "Or you could sit on my lap," Castle offered.

"Okay," Kaylie said simply, smiling as she climbed onto Castle's lap. "So, Mommy, what are you doing today?"

"Not much, sweetie. Just looking through some cold cases until a call comes in." Just as the words left Kate's mouth her phone rang. "Beckett… Yes, okay, thanks." Kate sat the phone down in it's cradle. "We got a body," Kate told Castle.

"Okay. Well, Kaylie, looks like you get your seat all to yourself after all."

"You get to go to a crime scene? Lucky!" Kaylie exclaimed.

"You've never been to the crime scene?" Castle asked. Shocked that she had NEVER been to a crime scene, not even a robbery as Kate had dated a robbery detective.

Kaylie stood up to allow Castle to stand.

Kate returned from grabbing something from the break room as Kaylie sat back down. "Kaylie, be good while I'm gone okay?"

"Yes Mommy."

"Hey Karpowski, you don't have a case right now, do you?"

"No, need me to watch KaylIe?" Karpowski asked.

"If you could please. I owe you one."

"No problem Beckett. You know we love having her here. She's a perfect little angel."

"Sure she is," Kate said with a smile. With a quick kiss on Kaylie's cheek, Kate led Castle out of the bullpen and to the elevators.

* * *

When they got to the scene, Kate immediately made her way over to the body. She crouched down beside Lanie, looking over the body and trying to figure out how the person died. "What do we know, Lanie?" Kate asked.

"What I know so far is that the victim is Jason McCoy, 33. He died from blunt force trauma to the head. Based on liver temp, I'd say time of death was between five and eight this morning. There are defensive wounds on his arms and hands as well as what appeared to be scratches on his face and neck. This leads me to believe that there was a struggle. His wallet, money, credit cards, and ring are still here, so I don't think it was a mugging.

"But, what I'm most interested in finding out is who the guy is."

"What do you mean? You said the victim is Jason McCoy."

"Girl, I know who he is," Lanie said gesturing to the victim. "What I want to know is what guy is making you so happy."

"Ummm… I have no idea what you're talking about?"

Kate hadn't thought about the fact that she could never lie to Lanie. Lanie knew all of Kate's secrets: Kaylie's dad, her first kiss, why she let go of mother's murder. Lanie knew everything, but this was something Kate wasn't ready for her to know. She knew Lanie wouldn't nag her about it or say anything, but Kate still wanted to keep it to herself.

She looked up at Lanie and could tell just from her look that she was saying, "Really? You're going to play dumb with me?" in that sassy way she talks.

"Lanie can you please just leave it alone for a little while? I want to figure it out myself first, you know? Just me and him."

"Okay, but you owe me a girls night out when you're ready to tell me who he is and what's going on with you two."

"That sounds fair," Kate replied, smiling at Lanie before standing and walking over to Ryan and Esposito. "Victim's name is Jason McCoy. Castle and I are going to head back to precinct and look into his history and notify his next of kin. I want you guys to stick around and question people that live in the apartment buildings bordering this alley. Maybe one of the people with a window facing this alley saw or heard something this morning."

"Okay Beckett," Esposito said.

"We're on it," Ryan added.

Kate smiled before turning and walking back to her car. She could tell Castle was following. She tried to keep her professional mask on, but could feel it slipping. Bodies in alleys were always harder for her than others.

Once in the car, Castle could tell Beckett was struggling with her emotions, so he decided to lighten the mood. "Want to know a secret, Detective?"

"What is it, Castle?" Kate asked, annoyed that he was bothering her.

"I find it really hot when you order people around like that."

Kate cracked a smile, "That's no secret Castle. All men do," Kate said with a wink before turning back to the road, her spirits lifted, ready to face the case ahead of her.

She grabbed her phone from the cup holder and the speed dialed her dad.

"Hey dad… No I'm fine, just caught a case… Are you busy?… Are you sure?… Okay, I'll see you at the precinct then… Yep… I love you too… Bye dad."

Castle gave Kate a questioning look.

"I know this case is probably going to take a while and I'm going to work late. When cases like these pop up, I have my dad watch Kaylie. I don't want her schedule messed up because of my job if I can help it."

**There you have it. Please leave me a review letting me know what you think, any mistakes you find, or any questions/requests/suggestions you have. Thanks and love you all:)**


	23. Bedtime

**Hey everyone:) Sorry I haven't updated recently. I was working crazy hours because Thursday was my last day. Any free moment that I had was basically spent working on getting ready for college. Also on Friday I had my wisdom teeth removed. I'm heading off to college on the 23rd of this month so my updates are going to be slower. I will try to get in as many updates as I can before then, but I know once I start college that I won't have as much time to write, especially at the beginning. I thank you all for being so understanding:) I hope you all enjoy this chapter:)**

**Guest 1: I've decided that they won't have a big part in this story, if anything they'll be there for like two seconds and get immediately turned down so we can all laugh at them:) Thank you for your opinion though:)**

**Guest 2: Thank you**

**Guest 3: Here is the update:)**

**Guest 4: Sorry, but here is some more:)**

**Bedtime**

"Come on Kate, it's late. Time to go home," Castle said.

"But Castle," Kate replied, continuing to stare at the murder board.

"No buts Kate. It's late, we have no leads, any lab or video won't be in until the morning. I know you want to solve this, but until morning, there's nothing we can do. If you get burnt out, you definitely won't be able to solve this case. Let's go."

"Fine," Kate sighed. She knew Castle was right, but that didn't mean she had to like it.

The two made their way out to the street. "Well, I guess this is goodnight," Kate said, turning to Castle.

"No it isn't," Castle replied, hailing a taxi. "Get in."

"Ummm, ok," Kate said, sliding in. Before she could close the door, Castle made a 'shooing' motion with his hand telling Kate to scoot over.

At her questioning look Castle told her, "I don't trust you to go home on your own. I know you, if I get in a cab first you'll just go right back in. If I put you in a cab first you'll have the cabbie circle the block or come back because you 'forgot something' and continue working. I am seeing you to your apartment, no arguments.

* * *

When they got to Kate's apartment, Kate assumed Castle would bid her goodnight, give the cab driver his address, and go home. Instead, Castle pulled out his wallet, paid the driver, and started walking towards the front of Kate's building.

"You coming Beckett?" Castle asked, stopping and turning around a few feet from the door.

Kate nodded and made her way to the front doors of her building. "You know, you can go home, right? I'm here, I'm going to bed. You need to do the same at your apartment."

"True, but if I leave now, I know you'll just hail another cab and go back to work in ten minutes. So, I'm going to walk you up to your apartment, enjoy a nice nightcap with you, ensure that you are well and truly on your way to bed, and then, I will go home and do the same. Now, let's go."

Kate merely sighed in response as she led Castle into her building and up to her apartment. The elevator ride was quiet. Kate was trying to figure out a way back to the precinct and Castle was trying to convince himself not to stay the night.

Once they arrived at Kate's door, she turned to Castle. Hoping to rid herself of him and get back to the precinct. "Thanks for walking me up here. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Oh, no. I am not leaving until you are in your jammies ready for bed, maybe a glass of wine to decompress. If I leave now, you'll just wait a few minutes and head back to the twelfth. Don't think I couldn't hear the gears turning in your head on the ride up here, trying to think of ways to ditch me."

Kate sighed again. She took out her keys and disappeared into her apartment. Castle took a moment, before following her in. "There is wine in the cupboard to the left of the fridge. Go pour us some. I'll go change for bed."

Castle nodded his agreement and Kate once again disappeared down a hallway Castle assumed led to her bedroom.

Castle got out a red wine and searched her cabinets for wine glasses. He found them easily and filled two glasses, one for himself and one for Kate.

* * *

While waiting for Kate, Castle decided to take a sip of his wine. Kate, it turned out, had great taste in wine. Castle kept taking small sips of his wine for about twenty minutes, when he tried to take a sip and found his glass empty. He went back to the kitchen, refilling his glass before returning to the couch. He set his glass next to Kate's and continued to wait, glancing around her living room.

After a few more minutes Kate reappeared from her bedroom. She was wearing a baggy purple t-shirt that hung off one shoulder and black leggings. Her hair was in a messy bun and her face was void of makeup. To Castle, Kate had never looked more beautiful. Castle was speechless.

"What? Cat got your tongue Castle?" Kate asked cocking an eyebrow.

Castle finally regained his voice. "No, I was just surprised to see you still here. I was beginning to think you had climbed out the window."

"That happen to you often?" Kate smirked. "I wouldn't do that. It just takes a while to get ready for bed."

"Sure you wouldn't. Come on, one glass of wine and I'll leave you alone."

"Sure you will." Kate smiled. "You picked the red wine?" Kate had finally glanced down at the wine glasses Castle had set on the coffee table. 'That's the kind that makes me all...' Kate thought to herself.

"Yeah, is that okay?"

"Perfect." Kate sat down beside Castle, grabbing her glass.

The two continued to talk about nothing in particular until they finished their wine. Castle looked down at their empty glasses. "Well, I guess I should get going."

"I guess you should," Kate said leaning in towards Castle.

"That was the deal," Castle replied leaning in as well. He was so happy that Kaylie was with Jim right now.

"Yeah," Kate breathed just before their lips met in a passionate kiss.

**There you have it. Now I need to for do some more packing, but I will work on the next chapter later today:) Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought, any mistakes you find, or any questions/suggestions/requests you have. Thanks and love you all:)**


	24. Flashbacks

**Hey guys:) Here is the next chapter. It kind of just wrote itself. This wasn't where I was planning on this chapter going, but I hope you all like it.**

**Flashbacks**

Castle did leave that night, but not before he and Kate made out like teenagers on her couch. Kate was glad that Castle had the sense to put on the breaks. The mixture of THAT wine and Castle made Kate heady. She would have gone all the way. She knew she and Castle weren't ready for that. They had only met a few weeks ago and Kate didn't want to ruin what they had with sex. She did know, however, that when they were ready, the sex would be amazing.

* * *

The next day Castle and Beckett showed up at the precinct early. The surveillance video had come back. For once, there was decent coverage of the crime and they could make out the criminal with very little difficulty.

It turned out, the murderer was the victim's brother, Anthony. He was jealous that Jason, the victim, had stolen his girlfriend. What Anthony hadn't known was that Jason had only been meeting with the girlfriend to try to convince her to go back to Anthony. It was senseless.

Kate was relieved that the case was over, but still felt conflicted. The case still reminded her of her mom, even though she didn't know what happened to her, it was still senseless. She wasn't sure how she would feel once she solved her mother's case, especially if she had been murdered for a misunderstanding like Jason.

Castle didn't know how to feel. He was glad they caught the murderer, but he could tell Kate still had her mother's death on her mind. He wished there was something that he could do to take her pain away.

* * *

The weekend finally arrived. Kate bundled Kaylie into her car and drove her to Jim's house. When they got there, Kaylie ran up to the door and began pressing the doorbell button. She continued to press the button until Jim opened the door.

"Grandpa!" Kaylie yelled, hugging his knees.

Jim returned the hug as best he could. "Hey Kaylie-Bug!" He looked up to Kate, "Hey Katie-Bear. How are my two favorite girls doing today?"

"Hey Dad," Kate responded, hugging him over Kaylie, who was still hugging his knees. "We are doing well. How are you?" Jim could hear the concern in her voice. She always got concerned on days like today. She worried it would knock him off the wagon. What Kate didn't understand was that Jim had only needed something to spur him into sobriety and then, Kate and Kaylie were all he needed to keep him securely on the wagon. He hadn't taken a drink since he had learned about Kaylie.

-FLASHBACK-

_Kate pulled up to the bar. She walked in and saw her dad sitting at the bar. "Dad, it's time to go."_

_He looked over to her with bloodshot eyes. "Just one more drink."_

"_No, Dad. Now." Kate said authoritatively. She grabbed his arm and pulled him out to her car. She had enough going on in her life and she couldn't deal with her father's problems anymore. She needed to think of herself and her baby and do what she felt was best for them._

_The drive to Jim's apartment was silent. Once there, Kate helped Jim into his apartment. He wasn't as drunk as usual, to Kate's surprise. Usually he would just flop on his bed and pass out. That night he slumped onto the couch and stared blankly at the TV in front of him._

"_Dad, I need to talk to you." Jim's gaze turned towards Kate. "I'm pregnant." Jim's gaze flickered with some emotion that Kate couldn't quite identify. "Dad, I'm not going to expose my child to your drunken ways. I'm sorry, but I can't put myself in danger of getting injured in a bar fight to come and get you. I'm not going to let my child be disappointed by your drunken promises. Until you sober up, I have to cut off contact with you. I'm sorry Dad, but I have to think about what's best for my baby. I love you Dad, and I want to to be part of your grandchild's life, but I can't keep putting myself through this. I want you to get better, but I've done everything I can think of. I've tried to get you into rehab and therapy, but you never stick to anything. I'm sorry and I love you Dad, but I have to go. I love you so much, but I also love my baby." Kate could see the pain in Jim's eyes, but knew she had done what she had to do. "I love you Daddy. Goodbye." With that Kate stood up and walked out._

_Once Kate made it to her apartment, she called Lanie. By this time her crying was verging on hysterical. Lanie couldn't make out what she was saying, but she knew it must be something important for Kate to call her at three in the morning. She tried to calm her and assured her that she would be there shortly._

_Lanie let herself into Kate's apartment and found Kate crying on her couch. "Oh, honey. What happened? Is the baby…"_

"_The baby is fine, but I.. Umm… I told my dad that I couldn't see him anymore until he got sober."_

"_Kate, you did what you had to in order to protect your baby and yourself," Lanie responded, sitting next to Kate and putting a comforting arm around her._

"_You should have seen his face, Lanie. He looked like a scared little boy. And he was so hurt. How could I do that to my own father? He's just dealing with everything in his own way."_

"_Honey, you have to stop justifying everything. You made the right choice. You did what you had to do."_

_The next day, Lanie went to Jim's house. There was no answer when she knocked, so she used the key he kept hidden under the doormat to let herself in. Jim was still sitting on the couch where Kate had left him._

"_Jim, will you let me help you? Kate was devastated. She needs you, sober. Please let me help you get sober."_

_Jim turned his gaze to Lanie. "I never meant to hurt my baby girl. What have I done Lanie?"_

"_It's not too late. You can still fix this."_

_Over the next few months Lanie helped Jim get into a rehab program and gave him updates on Kate._

_When Kate went into labor, she called Lanie who took her to the hospital and helped her through the birth of Kaylie._

_Once Kate was settled with Kaylie in her arms, Lanie went to the waiting room to get the boys so they could meet the newest addition to their family. She hung back and called Jim. "Hey Jim, it's Lanie."_

"_Hi Lanie. What's up?" He knew there had to be a reason for this call. She usually didn't call randomly. She usually called on Tuesdays and Fridays, but today was Thursday._

"_You have a granddaughter. She is a beautiful, healthy, little baby girl."_

"_Do you think I could come see her?"_

"_I think that is a wonderful idea."_

_Thirty minutes later, Jim walked into Kate's room. Kate looked up thinking she would see Lanie or one of the boys coming back to keep her company, or maybe Captain Montgomery. She was honestly expecting to see anyone but her father. "Daddy?"_

"_Hi Katie. Lanie called me. Is it okay that I'm here?"_

"_Are you sober?"_

"_I haven't had a drink since you told me you were pregnant."_

"_Then would you like to meet your granddaughter?"  
Jim walked over and looked at the beautiful little girl Kate was holding. He couldn't help but notice that his baby girl was glowing and wasn't a baby anymore. His baby had a baby of her own. "What's her name?" Jim asked gently stroking the baby's cheek._

"_Kaylie Johanna Beckett," Kate said, smiling down at the little pink bundle she was holding. "Do you want to hold her?"_

"_Could I?" Jim asked hopefully._

"_Of course, she is your granddaughter." Kate placed Kaylie carefully into Jim's arms._

"_She is beautiful, just like her mother."_

-END FLASHBACK-

"You ready to go, Dad?" Kate asked.

"Yeah, let's go you two."

* * *

Twenty minutes later they arrived at their destination. The three got out of the car and walked a short ways. The all just stood there for a minute. Kaylie was the first to break the silence, "Hi Grandma."

**Hope you liked it:) I was so glad I finally got to this chapter. I alluded to it so many chapters ago (ch 14 Getting to Know Each Other, ten chapters ago EEK!), I was glad to finally get it out. This chapter was supposed to be the three visiting Johanna's grave, but the flashback got away from me. I had Jim's story of sobriety planned out in my head for a while, but I wasn't sure how it was going to be told. I was planning on having Kate explain it to Castle, but this just flowed better. I also wasn't planning on having Lanie help Jim, but I felt that he needed someone to help him since Kate couldn't. Now I have a question for all of you. Do you want the next chapter to show Jim, Kate, and Kaylie's conversations with Johanna at her grave, or do you want me to skip over that. I don't want this story getting to sad or depressing, but I want to write what you guys want to read. Please leave me a review telling me your thoughts, any mistakes you find, or if you have any questions/requests/suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	25. Talks with Johanna

**Hey everyone:) Sorry that it has taken so long to get a chapter up, but I have been super busy with the whole moving into college and starting out as a freshman thing. I appreciate all of you being patient and I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It probably would have been up earlier this weekend but I went to a mud bog and got to drive for the first time and placed second in my class:) I really hope you all enjoy this chapter, I worked really hard on it. I'm going to try to post at least once every two weeks, but depending on school work and writer's block, I might not be able to do that. I hope you all enjoy:)**

**Guest 1: Thank you for your opinion. To clarify it wasn't the whole pregnancy. Only about the last three months. Kate just hadn't told her dad until that point (she was good at hiding it). Lanie and Jim wanted it to be a surprise which is why they didn't tell Kate. While he was in rehab, he wouldn't necessarily be able to have visitors all the time, plus with his withdrawals (which can be violent) they wouldn't necessarily want Kate to be there. Jim wasn't called because Kate didn't know he was sober and Lanie was more focused on Kate. Plus I don't know if Kate would have wanted her dad in the room, I know I don't want my dad in the room. I'm sorry it pissed you off, but I hope you continue to read:) Thanks for letting me know what you thought though:)**

**Guest 2: Thank you. I plan to keep writing this story for quite a while. This story is going to probably end up being 100+ chapters because I have a lot of ideas. I hope you enjoy this chapter:)**

**Guest 3: Thank you. Don't worry about the end, as I told guest 2, the end won't come for a very long time:) I hope you like this chapter:)**

**Guest 4: Thank you. I understand being busy, so no worries there. I hope you enjoy this chapter as well. Maybe it can be a break from whatever it is that is keeping you busy:)**

**Talks with Johanna**

Jim and Kate shared a look before backing away. Every time they came to visit, they would take turns talking to Johanna individually. This time, it seemed Kaylie wanted to start.

"Hi Grandma. How have you been?" Kaylie waited a moment and all was more or less silent. "Okay, I'm glad everything's been quiet up in Heaven. Maybe there will be a party between now and when I come to visit again." Kaylie had long ago worked out a system when it came to talking to Johanna. Silence meant nothing much was happening up in Heaven, all was quiet. If the birds would chirp loudly that meant there had been a party. When the wind blew loudly and wildly, that meant that Johanna was unhappy with something that had happened on Earth.

"I made some new friends, and so did Mommy. Mr. Castle is Mommy's age and they go on dates. He is funny and nice. Alexis Castle is a few years older than me, but she doesn't care. She still plays with me even though I'm littler. She is really nice. I think she might be my new best friend." Kaylie smiled at Johanna's tombstone.

She glanced back towards the adults and saw that they were just looking around, not talking. Kaylie knew this meant that they both wanted to talk to her grandma about something. She turned back around, knowing she should only use a few more minutes of her grandma's time before letting her mom or grandpa take her place.

"Mommy seems happier with Mr. Castle being around. It's even better than when Mr. Sorenson was around. But…" Kaylie once again paused to glance back at her mother. "Do you think you could ask God to keep Mr. Castle around. Mommy was so sad when Mr. Sorenson left. I think he broke Mommy's heart and I don't wanna see that again. I didn't like him too much, but I want Mommy to be happy. I like Mr. Castle a whole lot more than Mr. Sorenson, but even if I do end up not liking him, I don't want Mommy to be sad like that again. I'll pray, but do you think you could talk to God directly, since you're up there with him?" Kaylie paused. Distantly she heard a bird chirp once. "One chirp for yes and two for no as always, right?" Again, one chirp was heard in the distance. "Thank you Grandma. I love you so much! I better let Mommy and grandpa come talk to you. I'll come see you again soon. I love you." Kaylie got up, hugged Johanna's headstone and walked over to Kate and Jim.

* * *

Jim and Kate glanced up as Kaylie made her way back to them. "Your turn Mommy," she said with a smile. Kate stood from where she had been leaning against the car and made her way to Johanna's headstone.

"Hi Mom. Sorry it's been so long. Well, I guess it hasn't been that long, just a lot has happened. I'm sure Kaylie told you about Castle. And yes, he is THE Richard Castle who wrote all those books you loved so much. Don't worry, the books aren't why I keep him around. At first I thought he was just an arrogant jackass that could write, but it turns out he is a wonderful man. He has a daughter, Alexis. She is ten, but she doesn't look down on Kaylie like most older kids tend to. Alexis treats Kaylie as an equal. Those two are truly amazing. Mom, I've actually gone on a few dates with him. He is so sweet about Kaylie, he even had us bring our daughters on our first date. I'm sure part of his sweetness comes from the fact that he has raised Alexis mostly on his own. Her mother isn't in the picture, at least not from what I can tell. The person who helps him the most is his mother." Kate smiled, thinking of Martha.

"Oh, and guess who his mother is! Martha Rodgers. The broadway star. You remember all those shows of hers we used to go to, right? She is so amazing in person. She's charismatic, funny, and reminds me quite a lot of you. You would have loved her, and she would have loved you.

"I really miss you mom, but it is getting easier to deal with. I haven't looked at your case in months. With Castle around, I don't even feel the need to look at it. He keeps me so busy, I don't think I would have time to look at it, even if I wanted to. Half the time I feel like I'm looking after a child when I'm around him, but then I see him with Alexis and he's still a child, but there's just this quality about him. He's a dad, and a good one. I think it's good that Kaylie likes him. If he sticks around, I think he could be a good father figure for her, especially if we continue to date. Ryan and Esposito are great male role models, but they are just her uncles and they don't have kids of their own. They are great fun and can show her what a man should be like, but I wish she had a father figure who would be around all the time for her.

"I just wish I could give her more. She deserves so much more than I could ever give her. I know you'd say the same thing as Dad and say that every parent feels that way. Everyone says that I'm a great mom and that Kaylie is lucky to have me, but I still wish I could give her more. She deserves the world and a mom that isn't as messed up as me. I'm really doing my best, but it still doesn't feel like enough.

"I wish you were still here, Mom. Then you could give me some advice. Maybe I could talk to Martha. She raised a wonderful son. If Kaylie were to turn out like Castle, though preferably more mature, I would be so happy. I don't mean a millionaire writer, I mean a well adjusted, happy adult that knows what's important."

Kate glanced back to where Jim and Kaylie stood by the car. Jim was tickling Kaylie and Kaylie was attempting to break away. "She really is perfect Mom. You would have loved her. I know she loves you. And I guess you probably love her too, in your own way.

"I would love to keep talking to you, but I gotta give Dad some time to talk with you too. I love you, so much. I'll come back soon to let you know how everything is going with Castle, with work, and with Kaylie. Love you Mom. Bye."

* * *

Jim looked up from tickling Kaylie. "Your turn Dad." Kate smiled, holding her hands out to take Kaylie from him.

"Thanks Katie-Bear," Jim replied, earning an eyeroll from Kate at the nickname. Jim simply walked towards his wife's headstone.

"Hello Johanna," he said, looking down. "God I miss you, but it is getting easier to come visit. I don't feel the urge to drink as strongly anymore. At least now I'm confident that I'll be able to resist the urge. I don't know where I'd be if it wasn't for Kaylie. No, that's not true. I'd either be in jail or with you. Neither of those options are as appealing as my life now. Don't get me wrong, I look forward to the day I join you in Heaven, but as it is, I'm where I need to be. I would never be able to forgive myself if I had left our Katie-Bear all alone. And if she had had Kaylie-Bug without me being able to be there to support her, you would never forgive me either.

"I know you're keeping an eye on all of us down here, and I'm grateful for that. I probably would have stopped going to AA meetings long ago if it wasn't for the fact that I know you wouldn't approve of me not going at least once a month.

"Katie seems to be doing well. This Castle guy seems to be making her happy. I just hope he doesn't leave like Will did. I don't want to see Katie upset like that again. Luckily Castle seems much better than Will, though I haven't met him yet. From what Katie's told me, he has a daughter and lets his mother stay with him rent free. He seems like a good guy, but until I meet him, I'm not going to decide if I think he's good enough for her." Jim glanced down at his watch.

"I'm going to have to leave soon, but I know you want to know what's been going on in my life. I've been fine. Nothing much has happened to me personally. I've gotten a few cases thrown my way, but nothing of consequence. I know you always told me that I should start my own practice, but I don't think I have the best background for that anymore. No one wants a lawyer that is an alcoholic, and I forever will be an alcoholic, even if I never take another sip of alcohol in my life. As it is, I'm lucky I was able to get this job. Most of the cases I've been given are the open and shut cases. I was talking to Rob, a colleague, and he said that if I do well on my cases, I might get some bigger ones. I like the smaller cases, but they do get monotonous after a while, you remember that, right? I barely have to put any effort into these cases, but they do help rebuild my credibility."

Jim once again glanced at his watch. "Its getting late, we should probably be getting Kaylie home soon. We will be back to visit again soon. I love you Johanna and I always will."

**Hope you all enjoyed that:) Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought of it, if you found any mistakes, or if you have any questions/requests/suggestions. I welcome both positive and negative comments so feel free to let me know what you are thinking:) Thanks and love you all:)**


	26. Cuddle Buddy

**Hey guys:) So, there was a fire in the basement of my dorm hall. Everyone is okay and it was in a tv lounge so no one's room was ruined. We still aren't allowed back in, so I am staying with a friend. The good thing for all of you is that she let me use her laptop. As a result of having nothing else to do, I wrote another chapter for all of you:) I hope you all enjoy:)**

**Guest: Thank you:) Hope you think this chapter is great as well:)**

**Cuddle Buddy**

Once they got home, Kate ushered Kaylie into the bath. It wasn't too late, but Kate knew that Kaylie would want to play in the bath since she had the time and wasn't falling asleep. After about an hour Kaylie was clean and all played out. Kate helped her get out and dried off. Once Kaylie was in her pajamas and settled in her bed, Kate knew it would be time for a few bedtime stories. Early nights like this one always required more than one bedtime story. It gave the two a chance to spend quality time together, which, given Kate's job, could be difficult.

The first bedtime story was _Goodnight Moon_, as it always was after visiting Johanna. Kate also read _Cinderella_, _Snow White_, and _Little Red Riding Hood_ before she felt Kaylie fall asleep against her. She slid Kaylie over to her pillow, turned off the light, and retired to her own bedroom. She took a quick shower, threw on her pjs, and climbed into bed. She reached over to her night stand to plug her phone into its charger when she noticed she had a text message.

"Hey! How are you," Castle had texted.

With a smile Kate sent "Good, just slipped into bed. It's been an emotional day, I need a good book to read to unwind, any suggestions? ;)" Kate sat her phone back down on her nightstand. She was not expecting a response until morning. She opened the top drawer of her nightstand and pulled out _Storm Fall_. She had just started the book a few night ago and was eager to continue. She had just finished the third chapter when she heard her phone beep. She looked over to see that Castle had responded.

"I have a few I could suggest."

"Like what?" Kate responded, wondering if he was going to suggest his own books, or if he knew of other books she could look into when she was done with his and waiting for the next one to come out.

"Well, there is this one author that I am quite fond of. Goes by Castle. You should check him out, he just released a new book."

"What if I said that I've been checking him out on an almost daily basis for the last few weeks;)" Kate quickly hit the send button before she could change her mind.

She didn't have to wait long for Castle to respond. Within a minute her phone beeped, signaling another message. "Don't toy with me Kate. You say things like that and it makes me want to come over there and kiss you senseless."

"I think you would be the one that would be senseless when I got done with you."

"I wouldn't mind one bit, detective;)"

Kate blushed. She couldn't believe that she was really having this conversation. Before she could think of what to respond, her phone beeped again, signaling that Castle had texted her again. "Could I come over?"

"But what about Alexis? And Kaylie?"

"Alexis is spending the night with her friend Paige, and nothing would happen. I miss you:("

Kate thought about it for a few minutes. She did want to see him, and Kaylie was asleep. What was the worst that could happen? It was only Saturday night so neither she nor Kaylie would miss anything if they slept in. Before she could talk herself out of it Kate typed one word and hit send.

* * *

Across town Castle was eagerly awaiting a response. He hadn't thought too much about asking to go to her place. In hindsight he probably should have thought about it more, but he really wanted to see Kate. Even though it had only been a day, he missed her. He hoped she didn't think that he was only trying to get into her pants. He really liked her and wanted to take things slowly. When she didn't respond right away, he started to get nervous. What if she took it the wrong way? What if she wanted time to herself? What if she had another man with her? Wait, that was absurd. Kate was not that kind of woman. She would never cheat on someone. If it was his ex-wife there would be reason to wonder, but not with Kate. Even though he hadn't known her for that long, he trusted her. He didn't know why, but there was just something about her that let him know it was okay to trust her and let her in.

His thoughts were interrupted when his phone finally chimed. He looked down and saw a one word text from Kate. That one word made him happier than almost any word he had ever heard. He got out of bed, threw on a decent outfit and went to leave. He checked his phone once more to ensure he had read Kate's text right. It indeed still said "yes." He quickly typed "On my way" before grabbing his wallet and keys and speeding out the door.

* * *

When Castle arrived at Kate's apartment, he started to get nervous. He didn't know why, but he did. Kate didn't waste much time in opening the door and pulling Castle inside. The two spent a few minutes chatting idly before they both found themselves leaning in. It wasn't much longer before the two were locked in a heated make out session. Soon Kate was on her back on the couch with Castle hovering over her, making his way down her throat with open mouthed kisses.

Castle was the first to come to his senses. If they continued down this path, they would end up in a very compromising situation that neither of them was ready for. Castle made his way back up to Kate's mouth, pressing his lips to hers once more before pulling away. "We need to stop or this is going to go somewhere neither of us wants it to go yet," Castle said in response to the confused look Kate gave him when he pulled away.

That seemed to pull Kate out of the daze she had been in. She nodded her head and glanced towards her bedroom. "Do you have to go home tonight?"

"No, but I don't think-" Castle started.

"I just want to cuddle, Castle. Nothing more," Kate interrupted. "I haven't had a full grown person that I can cuddle with in a long time. Kaylie has been my only cuddle buddy."

Castle quickly debated the idea in his mind. It was true that he didn't want to leave and the idea of cuddling with Kate was appealing. At the same time he wasn't sure that he had the willpower to keep his hands to himself for the entire night. In the end his desire to stay with Kate won. "Okay, but no funny business."

"Not even one joke?" Kate fake pouted as she stood up. She took Castle's hand and led him down the hallway to her bedroom. They quickly slipped under the sheets and met in the middle. Kate laid her head on his shoulder as Castle wrapped his arms around her, effectively pulling her into him. Kate let out a satisfied sigh as she snuggled closer to Castle. For some reason she couldn't figure out, she trusted him. Normally she wouldn't invite a man she had been dating for such a short amount of time into her bed, but with Castle, it was different. That night, Kate had no problem falling asleep, unlike all the other times she visited Johanna.

Castle also found that sleep came easily as he looked down at the beautiful woman in his arms. This was perfect. The only thing that could make it more perfect would be if their kids were there, maybe with another one or two that was truly theirs not just half. This thought took Castle by surprise. He quickly put it out of his mind, kissed Kate's forehead and fell asleep.

**There you have it. Another chapter for you all. It is like three AM right now and I should probably get some sleep, but who knows. Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought, any mistakes you find, and any requests/questions/suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	27. Mornings and Nightmares

**Hey everyone. I am so sorry that I haven't updated in so long. I hadn't realized that it had been about three months because of all my school work. I have three weeks off for Christmas break so I should be able to get a few more chapters out before I start school again. I hope you all enjoy this chapter.**

**Mornings with Nightmares**

Kate woke slowly the next morning. She unconsciously snuggled deeper into her pillow in an attempt to sleep a little longer, then paused. Pillows aren't typically warm, moving, or feel like skin. Her eyes snapped open and she saw that she was in her room and she was lying on a man's chest. 'What did I do last night?' Kate thought to herself. Thinking back, she remembered visiting her mom with her dad and Kaylie. After that, it was bath and bed.

After another second of confusion, it all clicked. Castle, she had texted Castle and he had come over. They had made out for a while and then went to bed. At some point during the night, it had gotten too hot so, with Kate's permission Castle had stripped down to his boxers.

Once Kate realized who she was snuggled up to, she felt him begin to stir and pull her closer. It appeared that he too was waking up. Kate stayed still and debated whether she should pretend to be asleep still.

"I can hear you thinking from here," Castle said.

Kate tensed for a moment, then she relaxed. "Good morning, Castle."

"Good morning to you as well, Detective Beckett. How are you?"

Kate sat up, pushing her hair out of her face. "I need coffee. I can't function without it in the mornings."

Castle sat up as well. "What are your plans for the day?" Castle asked, his voice husky from sleep.

Kate bit her lip as she glanced down at his. "Well, it is Sunday, so neither Kaylie nor I have anything we have to do today."

"Would you mind me joining you lovely ladies?"

"What about Alexis?"

"She and mother are going to the spa today. So, if you kick me out, I'll be all alone. Who knows what crazy antics I would get into."

"Well, we can't let that happen, now can we?" Kate smiled. Both began leaning in.

Just as they were about to kiss, "MOMMY!" Kaylie was yelling for Kate from her bedroom. The two in Kate's room jumped apart.

They looked at each other before Kare pushed the blankets off of herself. "I better go see what she needs." Kate got up and left, leaving Castle alone in her room.

Castle glanced around. Kaylie's yell reminded him of when Alexis was that young. When he and Meredith were still together, it was he who would leave to attend to Alexis. The same was true, for obvious reasons, with Kassidy and Sofia. Kassidy was his first serious relationship after Meredith. If Castle was honest, she was more of a rebound than anything. He tried to make it more after they slept together, but she didn't want that. The relationship only lasted two months. With Sofia, it was the sexual tension that built up from Castle observing her as research for his _Derrick Storm_ novels.

Now that he was the one being left in the bedroom, he understood why neither Kassidy or Sofia enjoyed it and felt awkward about it.

The reason he and Kassidy had broken up was because she was jealous of Alexis. At the time, he couldn't understand how someone could be jealous of a child getting attention from her parent. Now, he understood. Castle was jealous that Kaylie was getting Kate's attention, but as a father, he understood. The children's needs would always come first for him and Kate.

Castle glanced around the room. What could he do while she was tending to Kaylie? As he looked around the room, his eyes landed on the book on her nightstand.

* * *

Kate made her way to Kaylie's room. She pushed the door open and saw Kaylie huddled under her covers. "Oh, Baby. What's wrong?" Kate asked rushing over to the bed. She sat down and gathered Kaylie into her arms.

Kaylie sniffled, "Nightmare."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Kate could see that Kaylie was hesitant. It was one of the traits she inherited from Kate, her guardedness and unwillingness to show vulnerability. "It will help."

Kaylie sighed. "Y-you sent me away. Said that you didn't love me and never wanted to see me again. You packed up my stuff and put it out on the street. You even called me a cab." By this point Kaylie was close to bawling.

"Oh, Sweetheart! That will never happen. I will never make you go away. I love you so much, Honey, and I will ALWAYS want you. The only time I will ever let you go away without the fight of my life is when you go to college or find a man you want t o marry. Even then I won't be happy about seeing you go, but knowing that you are happy will be enough. I love you, Kaylie, and nothing you do will ever change that, ok? Do you understand that?"

Kaylie looked up from where she was snuggled into Kate's arms. "Yes, Mommy. I love you too."

"It's still early," Kate said, hugging Kaylie tighter. "Try to get some more sleep."

"Will you stay with me?"

"Of course, I will. I'll stay right here until you fall asleep."

* * *

About thirty minutes later, Kate emerged from Kaylie's room. She turned to go to her bedroom where she had left Castle, but was stopped by the smell of coffee and food coming from the kitchen.

Kate paused in the doorway. Castle was humming to himself as he flipped pancakes. Kate smiled to herself for a moment at how domestic and at home he appeared.

After a few minutes, he looked up. "She okay?"

"She had a nightmare, but she's sleeping now. I hate these days."

"I know what you mean. Alexis used to have a recurring dream that giant fluffy bunnies would come and try to eat her."

"Kaylie's was that I told her I didn't love her anymore and sent her away. It's times like this I question if I made the right choice."

"What do you mean? What choice?" Castle asked.

"Keeping her. Many people questioned my decision to keep her. As a single, female cop, lots of people felt I wasn't fit to raise her. I'm at work so much, sometimes I wonder if I should have given her up. Don't get me wrong. I love her more than anything, I have since I found out about her. I can't imagine my life without her either, but at times I wonder if she would have been better off if I had given her up."

"Never think that, Kate. You are an amazing mom. She is lucky to have you. All kids have that nightmare. Alexis had it. I had it when I was young. I'm sure you had it too. When we do, our parents, single or not, questioned if they should have become parents and what they could have done wrong."

"Really? You questioned being a dad? But you're so good at it!"

"Yeah, even me. I had my fair share of neigh-sayers. Playboy writer raising a daughter? Many a gossip columnist and paparazzi questioned my parenting and still do. When Alexis would have a nightmare on a week when the press was particularly bad, let's just say I seriously questioned if I was doing the right thing. I believe questioning your skills as a parent is one of the marks of good parenting."

"Thanks. I may just have to keep you around if you keep giving me this great advice," Kate smiled.

"Maybe you will. Now, how about some pancakes and coffee?"

Sounds good. Did you know pancakes are an edible way to say, 'thank you so much for last night? At least according to Ryan and Esposito."

Castle blushed and began to stutter. "I was just… umm… I didn't mean… I-"

"I'm just messing with you. Let's eat, I'm starving."

**I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I promise it will not be three months before the next chapter. Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought, any mistakes you find, and any requests/questions/suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	28. Cartoons and Heart to Hearts

**Hey guys! Here is another chapter. I hope you all enjoy:)**

**Cartoons and Heart to Hearts**

After breakfast, Kate could tell that Castle wanted to say something. He was quiet and was avoiding eye contact. It made Kate nervous, but she didn't want him to know that. She took a steadying breath before looking squarely at Castle and asking, "What is it Castle? I can tell something is on your mind."

Castle looked up, meeting Kate's eye. He visibly swallowed. "We've met before."

Kate was was confused. "Of course we have. We've been working together for a while now. This isn't news Castle."

"No, I mean before my book party. You went to a book signing. I signed your copy of In a _Hail of Bullets_."

The blood drained from Kate's face. She hadn't wanted him to know how big a fan of his work she really. "I... Ummm... Yes. I went to a book signing. It really isn't that big of a deal."

Castle observed Kate for a moment. "Yes it is, because I remember you Kate. I remember how sad you looked as you walked up to the table. I remember hoping I could make you happy. I just wanted to see you smile because I knew it would be beautiful. I made some stupid joke that I can't remember, but I do remember that it made you smile. It was more beautiful than I imagined it could be. That's why I wrote what I did. 'Smile and be happy Kate. You're beautiful when you do. Live your life to the fullest. Yours truly, Rick Castle.'"

"You actually remember? How is that even possible? There were hundreds of women there that day!"

"You were the only one that brought a copy of THAT book. Plus, I knew, even from that brief encounter, that you are extraordinary. I knew you were something special, and I was right." Castle smiled at Kate. He hoped she understood how sincere he was.

For her part, Kate was speechless. He really did remember her. She had assumed that she was just another face in the sea of women to him. Kate couldn't think of a single thing to say, so she closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around him.

Castle wrapped his arms around her as well. He placed a gentle kiss on top of her head, reveling in their height difference when she wasn't wearing her heels.

After a few minutes, Kate pulled away slightly, planting her lips on his in a tender kiss. "Thank you. That was exactly what I needed to hear."

"I was only speaking the truth Kate. Then and now."

* * *

When Kaylie woke up again two hours later, she found Castle and her mom cuddling on the couch watching some cartoon. "Mommy?" she asked, trying to get Kate's attention.

Kate turned to Kaylie, smiling. "Well, good morning Sleeping Beauty. Would you like some breakfast?"

"Yes please," Kaylie responded. Her stomach began to growl at the thought of food.

"Castle made some pancakes earlier, so I'm just going to heat some up. Why don't you sit with Mr. Castle and watch TV while I get everything together."

Kaylie nodded and padded over to the couch. She plopped down and was immediately taken in by the bright colors flashing on the screen.

* * *

When Kate returned with Kaylie's warmed up pancakes, she found Caste and Kaylie locked in a heated battle of what was better, _Dragon Tales_ or _Scooby Doo_. Kaylie like _Dragon Tales_ better because they got to fly and there were pretty dragons. Castle liked _Scooby Doo_ because it was funny and Scooby would be an awesome pet.

"Yeah, but so would dragons. Plus I learned some Spanish on _Dragon Tales_! You don't learn nothing from Scooby."

"But it's TV. You don't need to learn from it. It is supposed to be fun."

"But _Dragon Tales_ is fun and you learn something, and Mommy says that's very important."

"Well, what's going on in here kids?" Kate asked before Castle could respond.

Kaylie turned and her eyes locked on the plate of pancakes. All thoughts of the previous argument flew away. "Food?" Kaylie questioned.

"Yes, here you go," Kate said placing the plate on the coffee table with utensils and a napkin. "Castle can I talk to you for a minute? In the kitchen?"

Castle looked over at Kate. The look on her face perturbed him. He stood immediately and followed Kate. "What's up?"

"Kaylie really seems to like you." Kate paused running a hand through her hair. It seemed she was trying to gather her thoughts. "I don't want her to get attached and then have you disappear. She's already had one guy disappear on her, and luckily she never met him, so she doesn't miss him. Regardless of what happens between us, I need you to promise me that you won't just disappear on her with no warning. I promise the same in reference to Alexis. I'm not going to let my baby get hurt because one of us is stupid."

"Kate, calm down. I would never abandon any child. First and foremost I am a dad and that influences everything I do. I haven't even asked you to be my girlfriend yet, don't worry about what might happen.

"I can easily promise I won't abandon Kaylie. She is adorable and sweet and deserves everything in the world just like Alexis, and just like every little kid. I promise I will never do anything to hurt Kaylie and I will do everything in my power to prevent others from hurting her as well."

"Thank you." Kate stepped forward into Castle's arms. "That's exactly what I needed to hear!"

Castle simply nodded as he hugged her back, resting his cheek on the top of her head. "That's what I'm here for."

Both were silent for a few minutes. They were simply standing in Kate's kitchen, holding each other and listening to Dragon Tales coming from the living room.

Kate was the first to pull away. She looked up at Castle with a coy smile on her face. "Yet?"

Castle had no idea what she meant. Had he zoned out and missed something? What did she mean by yet?

The confusion was clear on his face, so Kate elaborated. "You said that you hadn't asked me to be your girlfriend yet. Does that mean you were planning to?"

Castle hadn't even realized what he said. Sure, he wanted to be in a relationship with Kate, but he wasn't sure she was ready for that. He wasn't sure if she was even ready to hear about it yet. The last thing he wanted to do was scare her away. "Umm... I... Uh..."

"I think that would be nice. I haven't really had too many boyfriends since before Kaylie. Mostly just a few dates here and there."

"Really? I find that hard to believe. Beautiful, strong, confident woman such as yourself. I'm sure you had plenty of men tripping over themselves to date you."

"Until they hear I have a daughter. Being a cop isn't the most attractive quality. Being a cop and a single mom is the biggest turn off for most guys. I'm glad Ryan and Esposito are so understanding. The main reason they are is because they knew me before and they love Kaylie."

"Well, those guys were idiots if they couldn't see how amazing you AND Kaylie are. They are the ones that are missing out.

Kate smiled up at Castle. He really did know exactly the right thing to say and when to say it. Blushing Kate asked, "So when will this 'yet' become a reality do you think?"

"Whenever you want it to. I'd love to call you my girlfriend."

**There you go:) Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I should have another chapter to you all soon:) Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought, any mistakes you find, and any requests/questions/suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	29. Telling Kaylie

**Hey everyone:) I hope all of you are doing well:) I just got back from a class trip to Disney World and have about two weeks off before classes start again so I should be posting some new chapters pretty soon. I hope you all enjoy this chapter:)**

**Telling Kaylie**

"I'd love to be able to call you my boyfriend," Kate began.

"So you'll be my girlfriend?" Castle asked hopefully. A bright smile adorning his face.

"I wasn't finished," Kate smiled up at him. "I'd love to be able to call you my boyfriend, but," Kate repeated. Upon hearing the 'but' Castle deflated. Kate could tell by the look on his face that he was thinking something along the lines of 'there's always a but.' He dropped his head in defeat. For her part, Kate put a hand on each cheek and lifted his face to meet her eyes. "But if you want to keep working with me at the precinct we can't be in a relationship. At least, not a public one. So, that means there will be nobody for me to call you my boyfriend to, because all of my friends, at least the ones I'm close with, work at the precinct."

Castle was shocked stiff for a moment. Then he leaned down and placed a tender kiss upon her lips. "But, you'd still like to be my girlfriend?" he asked, filled with hope once more.

"Well, I don't go around kissing random guys and letting them sleep in my bed. I think I have to make you my boyfriend after all of this. But, we have to remain professional at the precinct and we can't be super obvious out in public."

"So we are sneaking around? That's so hot!"

"Castle!" Kate exclaimed, slapping her hand to her forehead.

"It's true, though, isn't it? We are going to be sneaking around. No one at work will know, none of our friends. What about family?" Castle couldn't fathom not telling Alexis or his mother. Plus, there was Kaylie to consider as well. She, after all, was the whole reason they were having this conversation in the first place. He didn't want to lie or sneak around her, but he also didn't know if she would be able to keep it secret at the precinct.

"I don't think we should lie to our families. I mean Kaylie and Alexis definitely need to know. And we will probably spend time at your place, so I doubt we'll be able to hide it from your mother. Also, I don't want any more secrets between my dad and I. We've had enough distance between us and I don't want any more, you understand?"

"I agree. I don't want to lie to the girls or mother. Plus, I don't think I'd ever be able to face your father in the future if we hid this from him now."

"Thank you so much. This is why I want to be with you," Kate smiled. She hugged Castle once again, truly happy to be able to call this man her boyfriend, even if it was only to her family.

* * *

Later that day, Kate and Castle sat Kaylie down to talk to her about the situation. They knew she wouldn't fully understand what dating meant, but they still wanted to tell her as soon as possible.

"Sweetie, Mommy and Mr. Castle want to talk to you about something."

"But Mommy! _Dragon Tales_ is on!"

"I know, but this is important and won't take long," Kate said, waiting for Kaylie to respond, only then would she be sure that she was truly listening.

Kaylie sighed. "Fine. What is it?"

"Well, we are dating now. Do you know what that means?"

"Do I get to call him Uncle Rick now?"

Kate and Rick shared a look of confusion. They had discussed it and were both fine with whatever she wanted to call him. If she wanted to call him Uncle Rick, that was fine, but where she got that idea was a mystery. "If you want to. You can call him anything you want, but why do you want to call him Uncle Rick?"

"Marissa's mom started dating a guy and she had to call him Uncle Bobby. I think it'd be cool for Mr. Castle to be Uncle Rick because he's like Uncle Kevin and Tío Javi. What else does 'dating' mean?"

Kate sighed, at least everything made sense now. "Well, Rick might be staying over once in awhile, and sometimes we might stay over at his loft. We will likely be spending a lot of time with Rick and Alexis. We will also spend some time with Alexis' grandma. Would you like that?"

"Cool! I love spending time with Alexis. She is so awesome!"

"Good, we will let you get back to your show now," Castle said.

Kaylie smiled widely and turned back to the TV, effectively tuning the two adults out.

Kate and Castle simply sat back and watched the TV with Kaylie. Both were relieved that she had taken it so well. Hopefully the rest of the family would take it as well as she did.

* * *

Castle had to be back at his loft at three that afternoon to reclaim Alexis from her spa day with Martha. Before he left, he and Kate made plans to tell Martha and Alexis about their new relationship status at dinner that night. They would worry about telling Kate's father later.

In the meantime, Castle was busy preparing the loft with Alexis' help. Together, they tidied up and began making dinner. Since he didn't want to make the idea of Kate and him dating seem like too big of a deal (he wanted it to seem natural), he didn't want to make dinner seem like too big of a deal either. He decided they would make a simple pasta with two choices of sauce, spaghetti sauce with meatballs and a lobster cream sauce.

"Why are we making so much food Daddy? We are going to have a bunch of leftovers. Are you going on a book tour again?"

"No, pumpkin. We have guests coming tonight."

Alexis' face scrunched up into a look of disgust at the idea. It was most likely going to be Gina and other publishing people, maybe Paula. It wasn't that she disliked those people, it was more that she was never included in conversations when they came over for dinner. It seemed that she was in for a boring night, but she wanted to check just how boring it was going to be. "Who is coming?"

"Don't make that face. I think you're going to like this get together. You like Kate and Kaylie, don't you?" Castle asked with a smirk, stirring the pasta.

"Kaylie's coming? And Kate? This is going to be so much fun!" Alexis exclaimed. She turned to the stove and stirred the sauce with renewed vigor.

* * *

"What do you want to wear to dinner tonight?" Kate asked.

"Where're we goin'?" Kaylie asked, staring into her closet.

"We're going to Castle's. We are having dinner with him and his family. We are going to tell Martha and Alexis that Castle and I are dating. That means that you can't say anything about it until we say something. Do you think you can do that?"

"Sure. I wanna wear the purple sweater."

"You really like that one don't you?"

"Yep, it's my favorite 'cause I love purple."

"Well, it looks very nice on you."

Once she picked out pants and shoes for Kaylie to wear, Kate put Kaylie into the bathtub. She helped Kaylie wash up before getting her out of the tub. She helped dry her off with a fluffy towel and then helped her into her clothes. She put Kaylie's hair in a ponytail and led Kaylie out to her room.

Kate rushed off to her own bathroom and took a quick shower. She put on the clothes she had laid out before helping Kaylie and threw her hair up into a ponytail similar to Kaylie's.

They bundled themselves in their coats and were soon out the door and on their way to Castle's loft.

**Well there you have it, Caskett is officially happening now:) In the next chapter they will tell Martha and Alexis, possibly Jim as well. Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought, any mistakes you find, and any requests/questions/suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	30. Nerves

**Hey guys. This chapter is pretty short, but I want to ask all of you a question about an upcoming plot point. Hope you all enjoy this chapter and you can find the question in the AN at the bottom.**

**superclaubeckett:** **I know cariña isn't proper Spanish, but I like the sound of it better and since I am only using it occasionally as a term of endearment and since Espo doesn't speak Spanish that often, I'm going to keep it that way. Thank you for your comment though and please feel free to let me know if my Spanish or anything else is wrong anywhere else:) Thank you for reading.**

**Nerves**

Knock, knock, knock.

Alexis skidded to a halt in front of the door, excited to see Kate and Kaylie again. She pulled the door open and her smile got even bigger.

"Hi Detective Beckett! Hi Kaylie!"

"Alexis," Kate said warmly. "Please call me Kate. There is no need to be so formal. Besides, I'm not here as a detective, I'm here as a friend."

Alexis looked up at Kate with a smile. She liked Detec-Kate. She didn't treat her like a baby like a lot of other people her dad interacted with. "Ok Kate. Come on Kaylie! I wanna show you something!" Alexis grabbed Kaylie's hand and pulled her off into the apartment.

Kate glanced around awkwardly before going to the kitchen. She assumed Castle would be in there working on dinner. She wanted to discuss how they were going to tell Martha and Alexis about them. They had discussed the when (at dinner) at Kate's appartment, but got distracted (making out) before they could discuss the how.

The closer it got to telling Rick's family, the more nervous she got. She didn't know how they would react. Sure, they had been nice when they had interacted before, but she wasn't sure if they would approve of how quickly the two of them got together. What if Alexis thought she was trying to replace her mom? Or what if Martha thought she was only using Castle for his money? What if they were just being polite before and really didn't like her.

Her mind was going at a mile a minute. So much so that she didn't realize she was standing in the kitchen doorway or that Castle had moved from the stove and was now standing in front of her.

"Kate? Kate, what are you thinking about?" Castle asked, slightly worried at the silence.

For her part, Kate blinked slowly, coming back to the real world. She looked up at Castle questioningly. When had he come over to her? Did he just say something? "What?"

"I asked what you were thinking about. You seemed like you were off in your own little world."

"Sorry, I was just thinking… What are we going to say to Martha and Alexis? How are we going to tell them about us? I don't know why, but I'm kind of freaking out!"

"You have no reason to worry. You are extraordinary. They already love you. Alexis can't stop talking about you and Kaylie. She is constantly asking when she's going to be able to see you again. When I told her guests were coming for dinner, she assumed it would be my publisher or agent or someone like that. She was so disappointed and, I think, somewhat annoyed. When I told her it was you, she lit up. And Mother isn't the type to be nice simply out of politeness unless it's for a part. If she secretly didn't like you, you'd know, because she doesn't do 'secret.'"

"She does have a flair for dramatics. She is an actress after all."

"A broadway actress at that," Castle added, smiling cheekily.

**So there it was. I can't believe that this chapter is actually this short. I should post again really soon, I just need your guys' opinion. Do you guys want to see Meredith in this story? She won't break Caskett up, because no one will do that in this story, but would you guys like to see her make an appearance? And as always please leave me a review letting me know what you thought, any mistakes you find, and any requests/questions/suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	31. The Announcement and Guest

**I am so sorry that it has been so long since I have posted. Midterms and just college in general have had me crazy busy. I'm on spring break this week though so I should be able to get some more writing done:)**

**The people have spoken... The majority of you said that you want to see Meredith at some point. You may be seeing her a lot sooner than you expected:) Thank you to everyone who reviewed and gave me their opinion. They were very helpful:)**

**Also thank you to everyone who has ever reviewed:) This story now has over 100 reviews and I think that is awesome! When I first started this story I was posting it on instagram and wasn't getting nearly as great a response as on here. Once I started posting on here, you guys seemed to love it. Reviews, in my opinion, are the highest compliment any of you could give me. All of you have been so nice and I am so glad that you all seem to like my story:)**

**Guest 1: Thank you:) Meredith will be making an appearance as I stated and I agree, I think Meredith has some motherly concern, she's just not the best at showing it all the time. Thank you and happy reading:)**

**dkfan: Thank you:) I love the Alexis/Kate relationship and would never let Meredith mess it up. If anything she will help strengthen it. Kate will be able to see why Alexis needs a more stable mother-figure in her life and want to provide that for her. Since Kate is a mother in this story and she lost her mother, I feel that she would be able to give unique advice that she wouldn't be able to provide in the show or in other situations. Thank you and enjoy:)**

**Guest 2: Meredith will show up a few times possibly, but never for too long, probably only two or three chapters at a time. I don't mean for Kate to seem shaky when it comes to men. She is definitely more careful because of Kaylie, but she is still confident. Kate knows what she wants and when she finds it, she isn't going to let it go easily. Thank you and enjoy the chapter:)**

**Now to what all of you really want to read, the chapter:)**

**The Announcement and Guest**

After a short discussion, Rick and Kate decided to tell Martha and Alexis after dinner, but before dessert. That decision somehow calmed Kate's nerves. Now that she knew the plan, she felt more in control. They knew what was going on and how they were going to tell them. Everything was set. All they had to do was get through the main course.

Everything went great. They all talked and laughed and had a wonderful time. Kate practically forgot the news they were going to share very soon. Castle's family put her at ease. There was just something about spending time in this loft with Martha, Alexis, and Castle that comforted her. It was the family feel that permeated the loft. It was something she often felt was missing in her apartment.

Sure, she and Kaylie were a family and loved each other. The problem was they didn't spend much time there together. Their happy place was the precinct. Most of their happy memories were from times at the precinct. With Kate's crazy hours, the two just never seemed to create the loving, family environment in their own apartment. Maybe with Castle's help, they could bring some of that happiness to her apartment as well.

The thought of Castle helping in her apartment reminded her of the news they would soon be sharing with Martha and Alexis and she began to feel nervous again. They were almost done eating, so it would only be a few minutes before they would drop the bomb.

Castle could sense Kate's nervousness. He he reached over to her knee under the table, squeezed it comfortingly, and gave her a reassuring smile. The second Kate locked eyes with him, she felt at ease. She smiled shyly back before returning to her food and the conversation at hand.

Fifteen minutes later, everyone was done eating. Kate helped Castle clear the table. "You ready?" Castle asked as they paused in the kitchen putting the plates and utensils in the sink.

Kate paused for a moment before answering. "I guess," she sighed. "As ready as I'm ever going to be."

"Do you want to wait? We can do this some other time."

"No, Castle. We can't keep this from them. They deserve to know now. We should go. They're waiting."

Castle grabbed Kate's hand and led her back to the dining room. Martha and Alexis were discussing the upcoming play at Alexis' school. Castle paused, before clearing his throat to get their attention. "We have something we'd like to tell you."

"What is it darling?" Martha asked.

"I'm listening, Daddy," Alexis said as she sat up, looking intently towards Kate and Castle.

"Well, Castle and I are…" Kate began.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

A knock on the door interrupted Kate before she could finish. Both Kate and Castle sighed. "Let me get that and then we'll finish this, ok?"

Castle headed to the door. He put on his confident smirk before swinging the door open. "How may I- Meredith? What are you doing here?"

"I decided to drop by and see my beautiful little girl," Meredith responded, sweeping her way into the loft.

"Mommy! You're here!" Alexis shouted, throwing herself into Meredith's arms. Kate sighed and reclaimed her seat at the dinner table. She didn't know how they could tell everyone now. Castle had mentioned that Meredith would blow into town, drag Alexis through crazy shopping sprees and trips and then disappear again. Kate felt her heart sink as she realized how hard it would be to tell Castle's family about their relationship now. As Kate sat watching the chaos caused by Meredith's arrival, Kaylie walked up to her. Kate pulled her up onto her lap. "What is it baby girl?"

"Who's the loud lady?" Kaylie asked, hiding her face in Kate's shoulder.

"That's Alexis' mom. She lives in California. Do you know where that is? It's on the other side of the country. She doesn't get to visit a lot because she lives so far away."

"Why is she so loud?" Kaylie asked, snuggling even closer to Kate for comfort.

"Maybe it's because she's an actress. Do you want to head home? It is kind of late."

Kaylie nodded in response. Kate stood up, balancing Kaylie on her hip as she walked over to Castle. "We're going to head home. It's late and Meredith is here. We really don't want to impose."

Upon hearing this, Martha stopped her. "Oh, but darling, you had news you wanted to share with us. Can't you tell us before you leave?"

Kate and Castle shared a look, mutually deciding to make their announcement.

"Rick, who are they?" Meredith asked with a sour tone. "Did I interrupt one of Alexis' play dates?"

"No, Meredith. This is Kate, my girlfriend, and her daughter Kaylie. That was the announcement we wanted to make before you showed up, that we are officially together."

"But Daddy, we already knew that! Grams told me like a week ago," Alexis replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

"Honestly, Richard. It was quite obvious this is where your relationship was heading. Did you really expect us not to suspect anything?"

"Well… I… umm…"Castle stuttered.

"We just wanted to officially tell you. We didn't want you to think we were keeping it secret. We are, however, keeping it secret from everyone else, except my dad. We don't want to make a big deal about it."

"We should celebrate," Martha replied. "Time for dessert!"

"Yay! Dessert!" Kaylie and Alexis yelled. Both running to the kitchen. Kate had set Kaylie down as they had made the announcement. She may only be four and small for her age, but she still got heavy pretty fast.

Rick and Kate shared a look before heading to the kitchen as well. That didn't go how they had expected, but at least they had taken it well.

With Castle, Beckett, Martha and the girls in the kitchen dishing up brownies a la mode, Meredith was left standing stunned in the hall. She was used to sweeping in and being the center of attention. She had no idea how to deal with being ignored. She was not accustomed to feeling left out and it was all that Kate's fault…

**Did you guys expect to see Meredith so soon? I hope you liked how I included her. Don't worry, she won't be here for long before something comes up in California. Let me know what you think of her appearance. And as I always say please leave me a review letting me know what you thought, any mistakes you find, and any requests/questions/suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	32. No Talking and Burst Pipes

**Here is another chapter for all of you. Spring break for me just ended and I would have posted this last night but the wifi stopped working. I will try to update more regularly, but school usually has me crazy busy. Hope you all enjoy.**

**dkfan: You're welcome. I make a point to respond to every review either through a PM or comment at the beginning of the next chapter:) Thank you for your confidence. I'm glad you like the story and hope you enjoy all the things I have planned:) Thank you:)**

**No Talking and Burst Pipes**

As soon as Meredith was alone and ignored, she began to plot. Obviously, the relationship was new if they were just telling the family now. That meant she could chase this gold digger away pretty easily. There was no way she would allow someone like her to come in and try to take her place.

The only issue now, was finding her weakness

* * *

After finishing their desserts in the kitchen, Kate glanced around. Meredith was nowhere to be seen. That was odd. "Where's Meredith?" she asked the room at large.

Everyone looked around and were just as confused. Castle stepped out and looked in the living room. There was no sign of her. Glancing towards the door, he saw Meredith's red pumps sitting next to everyone else's shoes. That meant that she was still here. The only place she might be would be the spare room. It was where she would stay when she visited in the past.

He made his way upstairs past the questioning eyes of his family, Kate, and Kaylie. When he got to the spare room, he pushed the door open. There she was, asleep on the bed. He sighed. Of course she would assume she could stay here. Normally it wasn't an issue, but he normally didn't have a girlfriend. He just hoped her visit would be short, very short.

He closed the door and made his way back down the stairs.

"Is Mommy sleeping?" Alexis asked as soon as Castle stepped foot on the main floor.

"Yes Pumpkin. She's in the spare room."

"Do you know how long she's going to be here this time?"

"I didn't even know she was coming today, or anytime in the near future. We'll just have to ask her in the morning."

"Daddy, it's 7:30."

"So it is. Head up and I'll be there soon."

"Ok, goodbye Kate, Kaylie." Alexis said hugging Kaylie. She then turned to Martha and hugged her. "Goodnight Grams." She then scampered up the stairs towards her room to get ready for bed.

"We should probably head home this one," Kate replied, nodding towards Kaylie, "should be getting to bed soon."

"I'll walk you out," Castle replied.

"Goodnight darlings. It's about time I retire as well. Tonight has been full of surprises." Martha said, swooping Kate and Kaylie into hugs and kissing Castle on the cheek before leaving in a flurry of colorful clothes and red hair.

Castle walked Kate, who was carrying Kayllie to the door. "I'm sorry about Meredith. I really had no idea she would show up. I wish I could say this is unusual, but it's actually quite like her. She should be gone in a few days."

"She's Alexis' mom, I can't fault her for wanting to see her, she's an amazing little girl."

"I don't know where she gets it from."

"You aren't so bad yourself Mister."

"Why thank you Detective. I shall bid you adieu here as my daughter is likely itching to start reading ahead. We read a chapter of _Harry Potter_ together every night before bed."

"Goodnight. Dinner was great by the way." Kate replied, placing a chaste kiss on Castle's lips before walking down the hall and getting on the elevator.

* * *

Castle was up early the next morning, hoping to have a chance to speak with Meredith before Alexis got up. In the past, Castle had allowed himself to succumb to the deep fried twinkie that was his ex-wife. Now that he was with Kate, he needed to make it clear to her that nothing was going to happen between them. He was a lot of things, but a cheater was not one of them. His ex-wives? Sure, he had been on that side, but he would never do that to someone, especially not to Kate. He had a feeling this relationship with Kate could really go somewhere.

Unfortunately, his cell phone rang before anyone came down. He left a note for Martha who would be up soon and would need to take Alexis to school.

With a sigh, Castle took one last look around the kitchen and at his empty coffee mug. His conversation with Meredith was going to have to wait, there was a murderer on the loose.

* * *

On the way to the crime scene, he got a call telling him to just go to the precinct. There wasn't anything interesting about the body or the crime scene and Lanie was already loading the body in the morgue-mobile. Beckett and the boys were already on their way to the precinct. When Castle arrived at the precinct with two coffees, he found Beckett sitting at her desk. One hand was brushing through her hair in a stressed manner while the other held her phone to her ear. "Ok. Fine. Bye," she said before hanging up and throwing her cell on the desk before leaning over her desk, resting her forehead in her hands, sighing.

"What's wrong?" Castle asked placing her coffee in front of her.

"That was my super. Apparently a water pipe burst. We have to get anything we want out by six tonight. He wants everyone in my hall out until repairs are done which could take a week, possibly more. I have no clue where we are going to stay. I don't have money on hand at the moment for an indefinite hotel stay. I'd hate to inconvenience anyone by staying with them. Everyone's apartments are pretty cramped as it is without two extra people."

"Why don't you come stay with me?" Castle offered. At Kate's dubious look Castle continued, "Kaylie can stay with Alexis in her room. Normally I'd say you can take the spare room. Meredith, however, has already claimed that, so you can stay in my room. The couch in my office pulls out, I'll sleep there."

"Castle, I couldn't kick you out of your own bed. I have no issue taking the pullout myself."

"Does that mean you'll stay with us?"

"You're the only one I know who has the space."

"Good, but you will take my bed. There is no way I'm allowing you to sleep on that pull out. I would never do that to a guest. We could always share," Castle responded, waggling his eyebrows up and down suggestively.

"No funny business? Maybe I'll allow it." Kate smiled for the first time during the conversation. They had shared a bed before, so Kate hoped nothing would be weird if she did have to stay for a week or longer.

* * *

Beckett asked Montgomery for the afternoon off to pick Kaylie up and get settled in Castle's loft. Castle took the afternoon off as well to help Kate in any way he could.

While she went to pick up Kaylie from school, Castle went to his loft to get everything ready for Kate and Kaylie's arrival. If he was lucky, he'd also have a chance to speak with Meredith. The plan was for him to meet Kate at her apartment so he had some time to spare before he left for Kate's. It was past noon, so Meredith should be up.

Castle took a deep breath and sighed as he unlocked his door, internally preparing himself for what lay ahead.

* * *

Across town, Kate was explaining the situation to Kaylie. "A water pipe burst. That means stuff might be wet in our apartment. Anything really important needs to come with us."

"Where are we going? Will we be staying with Grandpa?" Kaylie asked.

"No, we're going to be staying in Castle's loft. You'll get to have a sleepover every night with Alexis. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"Will that loud red-headed lady still be there?"

"You mean Alexis' mom? Yes, she'll be there when we get there, but I'm not sure how long she is staying. I don't think Castle has had a chance to ask her yet."

"She's scary. Why is she so loud all the time?"

"Well, she's an actress, like Martha. She acts in movies and TV shows though, unlike Martha who does plays. That probably has something to do with it. Meredith, Alexis' mom, is a lot like Martha, don't you think?"

"But Martha's nice. I like her. Lexis' mom is just loud and scary."

**I was hoping to get Meredith in this chapter more but it just didn't work out. She will show up a lot more next chapter, and for those of you who don't like her, don't worry, she won't be here for too much longer, two or three chapters at the most if everything works out the way I'm thinking it will:) And as always please leave me a review letting me know what you thought, any mistakes you find, and any requests/questions/suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	33. Stuffed Protectors

**Hey guys! Sorry it's taken so long to get this chapter up! I have finals in about two weeks so I'll try to get a chapter up before then, but I'm not sure if I'll have time to write. I hope you guys like this! Here is chapter 33.**

**Stuffed Protectors**

Castle pushed open the door. If everything were to go as planned he would set up space for Kate and Kaylie, talk with Meredith and be at Kate's within forty-five minutes. Knowing Meredith, however, Castle had a feeling this conversation wouldn't be a short one.

Inside, Castle found Meredith lounging on the couch, watching a soap opera. 'No time like the present,' he thought to himself before walking over to the couch. "Meredith, may I have a word?"

"Oh, Ricky? Are you done already?"

"For the day, yes. How long are you going to be here this time?"

"I'm not sure. Why?"

"Well, Kate and Kaylie are going to come stay here for a while. A pipe burst in their apartment and they need somewhere to stay."

"Oh? That's horrible, but where are they going to stay? Would you want me to share my room? Or share your room?" Meredith questioned suggestively.

"No Meredith. Kaylie will be staying with Alexis and Kate will be staying with me."

"Is that why you're back? So we can have time for just the two of us before they get here? I'm guessing you missed me."

"No, I came home to get the rooms ready and let you know they are coming. To be clear, nothing is going to happen between us. I'm with Kate now and I really think it could go somewhere. I'm not going to let something from the past ruin what I have now."

"It didn't seem like the past last time I was here. It seemed very much in the present."

"Meredith, I don't care what happened last time. Nothing is happening this time. I'm with Kate. That's all that matters. Now, I'm going to go get everything ready for Kate and Kaylie." With that Castle turned and went up the stairs to Alexis' room.

* * *

After their discussion, Meredith disappeared into the spare room. Castle didn't see her again before leaving and he was okay with that.

By the time he got to Kate's apartment, she and Kaylie were almost done packing. It seemed that there was some issue of what to take.

"But Mommy! They're all important. You said all the important stuff. I can't leave anyone behind!" Kaylie whined.

"Sorry about her. She wants to bring ALL of her stuffed animals with us. I said we need to take anything important with us. I meant paperwork, photos, stuff like that. She took it to mean anything she likes. That means everything she has."

"Kate, you have enough to deal with. Let me help her okay? Go get yourself ready."

"Thank you. If you need some help, I'll be in my room. You really are a lifesaver."

"I do my best, Detective."

Kate smiled before disappearing into her bedroom. Most of her photos and important papers were there. Luckily the only place that was really affected by the burst pipe was the bathroom and hallway. Kate knew the work they would be doing in the coming week could likely cause more damage. Just to be safe, Kate wanted all the important papers and any pictures or mementos from her mom safely out of the apartment. Everything she needed to take fit in two suitcases. One of her clothes and toiletries and the other miscellaneous items.

With her own packing done, Kate sighed. She needed to go check what progress Castle had made with Kaylie. Hopefully he had made at least some progress. As she approached the door to Kaylie's room she could hear the two talking. She paused, listening and hoping to get an idea of what she would be walking into.

"So these guys will stay here and keep everything safe. I'll take JoJo, Billy, and Brownie with me to keep _me_ safe."

"Did you pick out what clothes you want to bring?" Rick asked.

"I want Mommy to help. She always helps me pick stuff. She has great fashion skills." Kaylie replied, striking a modelesque pose.

"Well let's go see how Mommy is doing with her packing, shall we?" Castle answered.

Kate decided to make her presence known at this point. "Did I hear my name?"

"Mommy! I need you to help me pick clothes!" Kaylie threw herself against Kate's knees.

"I can do that. Do you have everything else packed?"

"Yep. I'm bringing JoJo, Billy, and Brownie with me. Everyone else will guard home. They will keep me safe. Maybe they'll keep the loud lady away." Kaylie loudly whispered the last part, cupping her hand around her mouth as if she was sharing a secret.

Kate smile. It was times like this when she couldn't believe how cute her daughter was and that Kaylie actually was hers. "Maybe they will, but the person they really need to protect you from, is me!" Kate replied. She sprung towards Kaylie and began tickling her.

"Mommy! Stop! I surrender!" Kaylie giggled, attempting to squirm away.

Castle smiled as he watched the scene unfold before him. He remembered being in that situation before with Alexis. The dynamic was interesting, as a single parent. You had to be the mom and dad, discipliner and funny guy. It didn't matter if you were a single mom or single dad, the dynamic was still the same. He saw so many similarities between Kate and himself, and they lived such different lives.

He was excited to find other similarities between them as their relationship continued. He was also interested in seeing how Kate and Alexis would interact in the coming week. With the dynamic of two kids and two single parents, plus his mother and Meredith, the coming week would be interesting for them all.

**There you have it. I hope you all liked it. Please leave a review letting me know what you thought, any mistakes you find, and any requests/questions/suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	34. Conversations

**Sorry that it's been so long guys. I just finished my first year of college so life was a little crazy. I also go back to work tomorrow morning. Since it is summer and I only work part time I should be able to get chapters out a lot quicker. I hope you are all enjoying this story and the summer weather.**

**Conversations**

Castle pushed the door open a crack and peeked inside. He couldn't see anyone right away so he pushed the door the rest of the way open with the bags he was carrying. Kate stumbled in laden with bags as well. Once she had set the bags down, Kaylie pranced in carrying only her small backpack and three stuffed animals.

"Are you guys so tired 'cause you're old? We took the elevator, not the stairs!" Kaylie said, looking at the adults who had collapsed onto the couch.

"Honey, those bags are heavy. We just need to take a breather before we take them upstairs. Why don't you go up to Alexis' room and start your homework. We can move your stuff when you finish."

"Ok! I'll come back down when I'm done." Kaylie scampered up the stairs and left Kate and Castle on the couch.

Kate sighed. "That girl tires me out. I have no idea where she gets all her energy."

"What? Are you saying that little Kate didn't have that much energy? She just sat around reading books and watching television?" Castle asked in shock.

"Well, I guess I did have a lot of energy when I was her age. I don't know how my parents did it. I mean, sure there was two of them, but even then, I think I was worse than Kaylie. She knows when to behave. I don't think I knew that when I was her age."

"Alexis is the same way. Much more mature than I ever was. Sometimes I think she is raising me more than I am raising her."

"Kids can make you grow up more and quicker than you ever thought possible."

"Especially when you do it on your own. I don't know what I would have done without Mother."

"Yeah, without everyone at the precinct and Dad, I don't know where we would be now."

"Well, you do have a lot more on your plate than I ever did. I could write whenever and when I had to go on tours I could usually leave her with Mother or bring her with me. You had to deal with a cop's schedule and raising Kaylie by yourself. I don't know know how you managed to do it. Even with all the help. I would have buckled under the stress. The only explanation I can come up with is that you are remarkable."

"Thank you. You're pretty remarkable yourself," Kate replied. She turned herself towards Castle. They stared at each other for a few seconds before scooting closer to each other.

What started as an innocent kiss ended with Kate straddling Castle's lap. When they separated for air, Kate glanced at the clock over Castle's shoulder.

"Don't you need to go get Alexis?"

Castle glanced down at his watch. "Crap. I need to leave now."

"I'm going to go check on Kaylie." Kate stood up and headed for the stairs. Before she could start up, Castle wrapped his arms around her stomach and spun her in a circle, kissing the back of her neck. "AHHH! Castle, what are you doing? Put me down!" Kate screeched.

"Just wanted one more kiss for the road," Castle said, giving her a wink before grabbing his jacket and walking out the door.

Kate took a moment to catch her breath before walking up the stairs to check on Kaylie. She pushed the door to Alexis' room open and peeked her head in. Kaylie was sitting at the small desk in the corner with her head buried in a book. Kate stood in the doorway just watching her for a minute before walking over to Kaylie. "What are you reading Kaylie-Bug?"

Kaylie gasped dramatically, turning around with her hand pressed to her chest. "Mommy! You almost gave my heart an attack! Why did you sneak up on me?"

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to almost give you a heart attack. I just wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm good. I finished my homework so I started reading my book. I like this one. It's the longest one I've ever read on my own."

"Which one is it?" Kate could tell it was a Dr. Seuss book from the illustrations, but wasn't sure which one it was.

"_Fox in Socks_. There are lots of words that do the thing where they sound the same. Mr. LeRoy told us what it was called in class but I can't remember."

"I think you mean rhyming. Words with similar endings like moon and soon."

"Yeah, that's it! Mr. LeRoy read it in class and messed up the words 'cause it's confusing because of rhyming."

"Ok, I'll leave you to your reading then. I'll be downstairs if you need me."

"Ok, bye Mommy."

* * *

Kate had been sitting in the living room reading for about ten minutes when Meredith appeared. "Oh, I didn't expect to see you here."

"Didn't Castle tell you we will be staying here for a week?"

"He may have mentioned it. I guess I just assumed you would be working at this time."

"Well, I normally would be, but I was given the afternoon off to deal with my apartment."

"Well, isn't that… nice."

"Yes. Was there something you needed?"

"Oh, no. I was just looking for Ricky."

"He went to pick Alexis up from school. He's been gone for about fifteen minutes so he should be back within half an hour."

"Oh, ok. Well, since he's not here, I just want you to know…" Meredith began with an evil spark in her eye. She was interrupted as the door opened at Martha blew in.

She paused when she saw Kate sitting on the couch. "Hello darling. What are you doing here at this time? Has something happened to Richard?"

"Oh, no! Castle is fine. A pipe burst in my apartment. Kaylie and I will be staying here while it is being fixed. Castle is picking Alexis up. He should be back in about half an hour."

"You poor thing!" Martha exclaimed. She then took a moment to glance around the room. "How silly of me. I'm guessing these are your bags?"

"Yes. I can move them if they are in your way. We were going to move them after Castle got back."

"They're fine."

"Well, I'll be in my room if anyone needs me," Meredith said. She didn't like the fact that Martha had basically ignored her.

"Oh, Meredith. You were saying something," Kate said. She felt bad that their conversation had been cut short, though she had a bad feeling about what Meredith had been about to say. She was glad Martha was here now.

"It's nothing that can't wait until later." Meredith continued walking away with a dismissive wave. Apparently it was time for her to plot some more.

**I hope you all enjoyed it:) I have a lot of ideas that I'm excited to write for the coming week with these lovely characters. Please leave a review letting me know what you thought, any mistakes you find, and any requests/questions/suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	35. It Begins

**Sorry this chapter took so long to get out. While I have the ideas for what is to come next, I found I struggle to write from Meredith's point of view. I will hopefully have another chapter out within a week:) For now, enjoy this one:)**

**Guest 1: Here is the next chapter:)**

**Guest 2: Meredith may plot, but she will never succeed. Caskett is stronger than anything she can do.**

**It Begins**

So that hussy wanted to replace her? There was no way Meredith was going to let that happen. She was going to make sure that this new person in her family's lives was gone just as quickly as she had appeared.

None of Ricky's past girlfriends had lasted that long. He shouldn't be too shocked when this one was gone in a flash **t**oo. Plus if everything went her way, he'd never know she had anything to do with this skank leaving. What was he even doing with a woman like her. Young and with a kid was not Ricky's usual style. The young fit, but they were usually blond, perky, and responsibility free. Her Ricky was not one for commitment. Usually all he was looking for was a quick screw from what she could tell**. **After a few days, maybe a week or two, he'd be on his own again.

This one, however, seemed determined to stick around and she didn't like it. In all likelihood, she was probably just an attention whore looking for money and would disappear at the first sign of resistance or interference. With any luck, she'd be gone within a day or two. Meredith just had to push the right buttons. If she could turn Ricky against her, and maybe Alexis too, that just might do the trick. Though turning Alexis would be more difficult than turning her Ricky. Maybe if she just made it appear that Alexis had turned, that would be enough.

With that thought, an evil smile spread over Meredith's face. She knew just what she was going to do…

* * *

Castle and Alexis arrived soon after Martha. Castle and Kate moved the bags to his room and Alexis'. As they were moving some stuff around in Castle's room to make space, Meredith emerged from her room and began to make dinner. She had the perfect plan, but she had to make and serve dinner tonight. Hopefully Ricky wouldn't question her too much.

If she could get Alexis to help her, it wouldn't be suspicious at all, but she was upstairs playing with her new friend. Whenever Meredith had visited in the past, Alexis would spend any time she could with her. This time, Alexis only wanted to spend time with Kylie, or Karly, or whatever her name was. It didn't even make sense because that little girl couldn't be more than half Alexis' age. Why would she want to spend time with someone so much younger? It really baffled her how enamoured her ex-husband and daughter were with this new pair. Instead of trying to understand it, however, she was just going to rid the loft of the annoyance.

* * *

At about six, everyone in the loft gathered at the dinner table.

"Meredith, it's so nice that you cooked for us," Martha said, feeling somewhat apprehensive.

"It's my pleasure. This is my specialty. My mom taught me how to make it." Meredith responding, smiling graciously.

"My mom and I used to cook together every weekend. I learned so many recipes that way," Kate said, trying to start a conversation at the same time regretting bringing up her mother. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat at the thought.

"You and Grandma Johanna used to cook together?" Kaylie asked.

"Isn't that nice. Anyways, this is my mom's shrimp, leek, and spinach pasta with creamy tomato alfredo sauce." Meredith said, turning the attention back to herself and away from Kate and Kaylie.

"It sounds good Mommy. Can we eat now?" Alexis asked.

"Sure baby. Everyone dig in." She smirked towards Kate. She had added extra garlic and some cayenne pepper, disguised by the slight pink color of the sauce to her plate**. **She knew the garlic would make it so Castle wouldn't want to kiss her because of her smelly breath. The cayenne pepper would cause Kate to tear up and likely leave the table.

Meredith began eating, but kept an eye on Kate. After a few bites, Kate paused. "Wow, this is kind of spicy. Good thing I love spicy food."

"Really? Mine isn't spicy at all," Castle replied. "Let me try a bite."

"Only if I can have a bite of yours." Much to Meredith's dismay, the two fed each other bites of their pasta.

About two seconds after the food had touched Castle's tongue, he began tearing up. "Geez Kate. How have you managed to eat more than a bite of that. My mouth is on fire from just that tiny bite. It feels like you put molten lava in my mouth."

"Castle, stop being so dramatic. It isn't that bad, though yours wasn't spicy at all. Plus mine seems to have more garlic too."

"That's weird. I have no idea how that could have happened Kate." Meredith said feigning remorse.

Kate noted the fact that Meredith didn't seem the least bit sorry about her food being messed up. In fact, she seemed almost disappointed that Kate didn't have more of a reaction.

* * *

Later as they all gather in the living room to watch a movie, Castle suggested ice cream. Kate and Meredith offered to dish it out for everyone.

As Meredith began to put some whip cream on Castle's as requested, she purposefully aimed the can slightly higher than necessary, spraying Kare in the process.

"Oh, so sorry Katie."

"That's fine, and it's Kate actually."

"Oh, that's right." Kate again noticed the lack of sincerity, but just blamed it on not knowing Meredith that well.

Kate cleaned herself off before grabbing three completed bowls. "I'll take these and meet you out there." The three bowls she grabbed happened to be Castle and the girls'. Meredith finished dishing up the other three bowls and followed soon after. she handed Martha her bowl before setting hers on the coffee table. As she walked over to Kate, the bowl slipped out of her hand and landed upside down on Kate's lap.

Kate gasped at the cold sensation. "Oh, that's cold! I think I'm going to go change now."

"Oh, I'm so sorry Kate. How clumsy of me."

With the insincere apology, Kate stood up and made her way to Castle's room. At this point, Kate knew something was going on. First the spicy pasta, then the whip cream, and now the ice cream? Kate was pretty sure it was no accident. Plus Meredith never seemed too sorry. If only Kate could figure out why she was acting like this…

**There you have it. Meredith is trying to sabotage Kate. Please let me know what you think of Meredith's plan so far, I really do appreciate all of your feedback. And, as always, please leave a review letting me know what you thought, any mistakes you find, and any requests/questions/suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	36. The First Morning

**Sorry this took so long. I have been working more than normal. Also my dad injured his shoulder really bad. He is going to have surgery on July 2nd so it might be a while before I can get another chapter out. I have a lot of ideas for what is to come in the next few chapters so if I get the time it shouldn't be too hard to write. I hope you enjoy:)**

**The First Morning**

Kate lay in bed that night, listening to Castle type in his office, right outside the bedroom door. Why was Meredith acting like this towards her? Sure, Castle had never spoken all that highly of her, but this seemed below her.

Kate had a feeling Meredith wanted her out of the way. That was likely what she was going to tell her before Martha showed up. If that was the case, Kate was going to be the bigger person. She knew Alexis loved her mother and didn't want to do anything that would hurt that sweet little girl. She also knew that Castle had a special place in his heart for Meredith as well because she had given him Alexis.

Kate was the new addition to the dynamic and she didn't want to cause trouble. After all, she wasn't going to be staying in the loft for long, and, if history were any indication, neither would Meredith, so what was wrong with a few harmless pranks. There was also the possibility that Meredith was just trying to feel her out and see what she was made of. Either way, Kate wasn't going to stir up any trouble if she could help it.

With those thoughts, Kate turned over. She really needed to get some sleep. Everything would be better in the morning, right?

* * *

When Kate woke up the next morning she found her back pressed to Castle's chest. His arm was around her stomach and his face was buried in her hair. Kate reached over to the nightstand to grab her phone, careful not to disturb Castle. She quickly shut off her alarm. She had two hours to get ready before she needed to wake Kaylie up for school. Kate carefully detached herself from Castle and went into the attached bathroom and turned on the shower so the water would be warm when she returned. She then went to check on Kaylie as she usually did first thing in the morning.

She made her way quietly through the loft to Alexis' bedroom. As she neared the door she could hear a muffled noise. She quietly pushed the door open and peeked inside. Kaylie, ever the sound sleeper, was sleeping on an air mattress on the floor. Alexis on the other hand, was curled up in the corner on her bed, sniffling.

"Alexis? Are you ok?" Kate asked softly, trying not to startle the obviously distressed girl.

"Kate!" Alexis squeaked. "I had a bad dream."

"Do you want me to go get your dad, Sweetie?"

"No! Don't leave me!"

"I can take you to him then, would that be better?"

"But we can't leave Kaylie all alone!" Alexis whispered looking down at said girl.

"Then how about I sit with you for a bit. Would that be ok?"

"I'd like that if it isn't too much trouble."

"It's no problem," Kate replied, carefully stepping over Kaylie to sit on Alexis' bed. "Come here," she said, opening her arms to offer her a hug. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Alexis moved out of the corner and leaned into Kate's side. "I don't want to wake Kaylie up."

"She's a deep sleeper. I tripped in her room one time and made a loud noise, I sort of screamed a little, and she didn't even move. The second you touch her, however, she wakes right up. So don't worry."

"Ok, but you have to promise not to tell Daddy or Mommy."

"I promise I won't tell them anything they don't need to know, ok? If they need to know for your safety or something I will have to tell them. I can't keep something like that from them."

"Ok… Well you and Kaylie left, like for good left. You said you never wanted to see me or Daddy again and walked out. It made Daddy really, really sad so he said he couldn't take care of me anymore. Grams was doing a play and had a new boyfriend so she didn't want me. So Daddy sent me to live with Mommy in California 'cause she was the only one left that was willing to take me. I love her, but I love living with Daddy and Grams and I like school here and I have all my friends and this loft and… and… I don't want you and Kaylie to go away forever!"

"I promise I will never leave you. Even if your dad and I don't work out, you can still visit Kaylie and I and she can come visit you. And your daddy loves you so much. He would do anything to make you happy. He would do anything he possibly could to keep you safe and with him. We all just want what's best for you."

"Thank you, Kate. Please don't tell Mommy. I don't want her to be mad. I really do love her, and I wanna spend more time with her, I just don't wanna leave Daddy, Grams, or my friends."

"I won't tell. Now why don't you try to get some more sleep, it's still pretty early."

"Ok. Thank you for listening," Alexis said laying down and snuggling into the blankets.

"Anytime Sweetie. Get some sleep." Kate stepped over Kaylie again before quietly leaving the room. She glanced back in as she closed the door and smiled. Kaylie was curled up on the air mattress hugging Billy. Alexis had offered Kaylie her bed, but Kaylie said she was fine with the air mattress. She was very similar to Kate as she didn't want to inconvenience anyone. Also, she thought the air mattress was cool.

Kate quietly made her way back to Castle's room. Quickly grabbing her clothes and rushing into the bathroom. She didn't have as much time as usual, and the shower had been running the entire time so Kate wanted to be quick.

* * *

Castle woke up to find the bed beside him empty. He felt Kate's side of the bed and it was still warm. He then became aware of the sound of the shower running. He heard the bathroom door open and rolled over. He saw Meredith leaving his room. He must have been dreaming. Meredith had no reason to be in his room. And if she was in his room, the only thing he could think she would want to do would be get in bed with him. She wasn't doing that so Castle shrugged his shoulder and turned back over, falling asleep once more.

* * *

Kate took a quick shower. When she got out, she put her hair up in a towel. She got dressed and did her makeup, leaving her hair in the towel to do last. Glancing at the clock, she saw that she had just enough time to blowdry and style her hair before making breakfast and lunch for Kaylie. Since she was staying with the Castles she may as well make breakfast for everyone else as well. She couldn't forget about Martha either, if she woke up before Kate left that was. There was also Meredith to consider.

Kate plugged the blow dryer in. As she held it up to her hair a white cloud came out and covered her hair. She quickly shut it off, looking at the front of the barrel. Kate found it was covered in what appeared to be baby powder.

She sighed, this wasn't going to be easy to get out. She ruffled her hair to dislodge as much as she could. Since she was already dressed and had done her makeup, Kate decided to try using the sink to get the rest of the baby powder out.

It was actually easier than she thought it would be, but she still didn't have time to dry her hair again. She put her hair up in a bun before cleaning the nozzle of the blow dryer so Castle would be able to use it if he wanted to or for herself the next day.

As Kate left the bathroom, a realization hit her, this was likely only the beginning. This had Meredith's name written all over it. Kate had hoped the previous night would be the end of it, but it appeared that Meredith wasn't ready to stop.

Kate kissed Castle on the cheek, grabbed her phone, and made her way to Alexis' room. She needed Kaylie to start getting ready, and probably Alexis as well. Kate opened the door and peeked in. Alexis was sitting at her desk reading a book. Kaylie was still passed out.

"Hey Alexis. I was just coming in to wake Kaylie up."

"Good morning, Kate," Alexis replied, smiling as though she hadn't been crying and scared two hours before.

Kate smiled back and walked over to Kaylie. "Sweetie, it's time to wake up," she said, lightly shaking her shoulder.

Kaylie's eyes blinked open. "Mommy?"

"It's time to get up. You have to get ready for school. I'll be downstairs making breakfast. Come down when you are ready, both of you," Kate said glancing at Alexis so she knew she was invited as well.

Kate went back downstairs to the kitchen and started making breakfast. Scrambled eggs and bacon was quick and easy, plus everyone should like it. As she began to plate it, Alexis and Kaylie appeared in the kitchen. She dished up three plates, serving Kaylie, Alexis, and herself.

"I'm going to see if Castle wants to get up for breakfast, you guys sit down and eat.

Kate returned to Castle's bedroom once again. "Time to wake up," she said, leaning down to kiss him on the cheek.

"Five more minutes," Castle mumbled.

"If you want any bacon you better get up now."

"Ok, I'm up." Castle quickly sat up and threw off the covers.

"Good now get dressed. Kaylie and Alexis are already eating."

"I'll be there soon," he replied, leaning towards Kate and gently kissing her.

**There you have it. Meredith strikes again. Sorry there wasn't a lot of Caskett. There should be more in the next few chapters as well as Kate/Alexis and Meredith/Alexis. I hope you are enjoying this. Please leave a review letting me know what you thought, any mistakes you find, and any requests/questions/suggestions. Thanks and love you all:)**


	37. Pranks too far

**Hey everyone:) Here is another chapter for all you lovelies out there. An update on my dad: he is doing well. His surgery went well, he is doing great, and he is back to work. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers:) I'm sorry this chapter is so late! Life has been crazy with work and helping my dad. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, it's the longest one yet.**

**Swordwriter: I'm sorry you feel that way. I try to be original in all of my writing. I know the idea of a scheming Meredith isn't that original, but I hoped my approach to it was. She won't be around for much longer so it should get back to the originality that you liked in the beginning. I hope you keep reading, and either way, I appreciate the feedback. Thank you:)**

**Pranks too far**

Kate stood up, and walked out of the interrogation room. She had just gotten a confession from their lead suspect. Surprisingly, after the difficult case, he was easy to break once they got him into interrogation.

"Well that was easy," Ryan commented, coming out of the observation room followed by Esposito.

"I guess we just got lucky. Plus, no one can lie to Beckett in there," Esposito added. "She's too scary."

"Hey! I'm not scary," Kate complained, glaring at the boys. She went over to her desk in hopes of finishing as much paperwork as she could before she had to pick Kaylie up. If her luck continued, she wouldn't have to come back in.

Captain Montgomery stuck his head out of his office. "Get your paperwork done quick guys. When you leave for lunch, don't come back. You've worked hard on this case. The three of you have the weekend off. So go relax and enjoy."

"Thank you, sir," Ryan replied.

"Thanks, Captain," Esposito added.

"Thank you very much sir," Kate smiled, quickly turning back to her paperwork so she could go spend time with Kaylie. With how the case had been going and the issues with her appartment, she hadn't been able to spend any one-on-one time with her daughter. It looked like she would finally have the time to do so now.

* * *

Alexis' school had a half day that day, so she was home before Kate. Castle was at a meeting with Gina and Paula and Martha was at rehearsal for the play she was in. That left Meredith to watch Alexis.

"Hey baby girl, wanna have some fun?" Meredith asked Alexis. A plan forming in her mind.

"Of course Mommy. What did you have in mind?"

"We are going to play some tricks on Kate."

"But isn't that mean?"

"No, she'll find it funny too. I already played a little one on her this morning. She'll probably get us back too. It'll be fun. I used to have little prank wars with my cousins all the time when I was younger."

"Are you sure? I wouldn't want to make Kate mad," Alexis said, still not fully sure.

"I'm positive. This will be fun for everyone I promise."

"Okay Mommy. What are we going to do?"

Meredith produced a small bag filled with a white substance. "I want you to go put this under Kate's pillow, but inside the pillow case."

"What's in there? And why am I putting it in her pillow case?"

"It's whip cream. And when she puts her head down, it'll come out, kinda like the pillow is throwing up. It'll be really funny."

"Ok, I'll go do it."

"That's a good girl," Meredith smiled as Alexis took the bag and went into her father's bedroom.

* * *

Kate was half way to Kaylie's school before she realized it was Friday. Every Friday Kaylie had Book Club. The school's library put it together. Any kids that wanted to would read the selected book during the week and then talk about it on Friday after school. The kids were separated into groups based on reading level so everyone could read a book they understood and enjoyed. Jenny was one of the leaders so she would usually bring Kaylie home. It gave her time to spend with Kaylie since she didn't work at the precinct and it gave Kaylie time to play with Alfie occasionally.

Kate changed her course and headed towards the loft. The closer she got, the more tired she felt. It looked like a nap was in store for her. She hadn't gotten enough sleep last night due to worrying about Meredith. Normally she avoided naps because almost all her time was divided between Kaylie and work. What little time she had left was used to clean and do whatever needed to be done around her apartment.

Kate arrived at Castle's apartment building and made her way up to the loft. She used the key Castle had lent her to get into the loft. She was surprised to see Alexis sitting on the couch reading a book. "What are you doing home, Alexis?"

Alexis looked up quickly, startled by the sudden voice.

"Oh, hi Kate. You scared me."

"Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to be home."

"We had a half day today. Daddy is at a meeting and Mommy is taking a shower. Where's Kaylie?"

"I forgot she has book club after school today and I have the rest of the weekend off. I'll leave you to you book. I'm going to go take a nap."

Alexis hesitated for a moment. Kate seemed tired, like she needed a nap. She questioned if she should tell her about the prank. She didn't want to upset her mother, though. So she just smiled and said, "have a good nap."

Kate smiled back, but made a mental note of Alexis' pause. Maybe Alexis wanted to talk to her about something? She'd give her some time to think it through on her own as she seemed unsure. She'd bring it up after her nap, depending on Alexis' mood.

* * *

A few moments after Kate disappeared into Castle's bedroom, Meredith came down the stairs. "Who were you talking to baby?"

"Kate just got home. She's going to go take a nap now," Alexis replied, still unsure. Kate had seemed rather tired.

"Looks like she's going to discover our little prank sooner than we thought."

"She looked really tired. Maybe we should warn her. Or at least go help her clean."

"When she figures it out she'll come to us. Now, I'm going to my room to practice some lines for an upcoming audition, okay? Do you need anything before I go?"

"I'm fine Mommy. I'll just be here reading."

"Okay, come get me if you need me," Meredith said, heading up the stairs to her room.

Alexis stayed on the couch for a minute before going to the kitchen. She grabbed a few towels and got two of them wet and added soap to one. She then carried the four towels into her father's room. She wanted to help Kate clean up. It was only right that those who created the mess helped clean up. Alexis didn't want to upset Meredith by pointing that out, so she was taking matters into her own hands.

Kate was kneeling beside the bed when Alexis walked into the room.

"Kate?" Alexis said timidly.

Kate looked over to the door, smiling at the new arrival. "Hey Alexis. What do you have there?"

"Some towels… To help clean up," Alexis said so quietly Kate could barely hear her.

"How did you know about the mess?"

"I put the bag in there. Mommy said it would be funny. You weren't supposed to find it 'til bedtime."

"It was very unexpected and funny. And thank you for coming to help me clean up."

"It's not a problem."

After a short time, the two had the room spotless once more. Kate glanced at the clock. She had a little less than an hour before she had to pick Kaylie up. "Well, looks like I don't have time for that nap. Any ideas on what I could do to pass the time in this loft?"

"Well… If you want to, as Daddy says, 'get your blood pumping and face smiling' we could play lazer tag. If you wanted to do something by yourself you could read or watch TV. Daddy has plenty of books to choose from."

"Lazer tag sounds like fun. I've never played before."

"You've never played?!" Alexis asked, astonished. "We play all the time! It's the best!"

"Then let's play. You'll have to teach me though."

* * *

Kate caught on quickly and soon the two were giggling and shouting to each other. All the noise brought Meredith out of her room. She moved quietly and made sure she remained unnoticed.

Her face twisted into a grimace as she watched Kate hug her daughter. She couldn't quite make out what they were saying, but she knew she didn't like how familiar Kate was acting towards Alexis.

She was about to step in when Kate said what appeared to be a goodbye to Alexis, grabbed her keys, and left. Meredith quickly retreated to her room once again. It seemed one prank using Alexis wouldn't be enough. It was time to escalate.

* * *

Over the next few days Meredith utilized Alexis to play more tricks on Kate. They put plastic wrap under the lid of all her lotions and soaps so nothing would come out, and put a rubber band on the sink sprayer, and many other things. Kate was annoyed, but didn't want to create any disturbances.

Castle remained oblivious, miraculously. He was all too happy to have Kate and Kaylie staying with him, so he wasn't looking for problems. Kaylie didn't notice anything either.

Kate was grateful that no one had gotten hurt by the pranks and that no one else had been the accidental victim of one of them. She hoped Meredith would leave soon so she wouldn't have to worry.

Meredith was relishing the power she held over Kate. She didn't have any auditions scheduled back in California for a few weeks unless her agent called, so she was good to stay in New York. She had one last prank planned for now. It was simple, put some olive oil on the wood floor and put a rug over it. When Kate would step on the rug it would slide out from under her. She wasn't going to involve Alexis in this one. It could end up hurting Kate and she knew Alexis likely wouldn't approve. So, she did it on her own. She set everything up and went in search of Kate.

"Oh, Kate. There you are. Kaylie was in the kitchen. I think she needed you for something."

"Thanks Meredith," Kate said, making her way to the kitchen. With her luck, Kaylie was probably getting into something she shouldn't be. As Kate thought about it, she grew more nervous. Knowing Kaylie, she probably got into the sweets. If that was true, she'd be impossible to manage the rest of the night. Kate sped up and that's when she hit the rug.

As the rug slipped out from under her, she attempted to catch herself and felt her ankle twist. As she fell, she cried out in pain. She grabbed her ankle as she felt tears well in her eyes.

Kaylie ran down the stairs. She had been walking down from Alexis' room to ask her mom for a snack when she hear the sound of her mother's cry. "Mommy? Are you okay?"

Kate looked up in surprise as Kaylie's voice didn't come from the kitchen. Ignoring that thought she spoke to her daughter, "Baby, please go get Castle and then get me some ice in a ziplock baggie ok? And hurry."

Kaylie nodded and quickly ran off in search of Castle. Kate did her best to mask her pain while Kaylie was gone. She didn't want Kaylie to worry too much. After about a minute Castle rushed to Kate's side.

"What happened? What can I do?"

"All that matters right now is that I fell and twisted my ankle. I need you to get Meredith or Martha to watch the girls and then take me to the hospital," Kate forced out through gritted teeth.

With that Kaylie reappeared and handed Kate the ice. "Here Mommy. What do you want me to do now?"

"Thank you, go upstairs and play with Alexis. Castle and I are going out for a while."

"Yes, Meredith will watch you for a bit until Mother gets here, ok?"

"Ok." Kaylie scampered away and up the stairs. She was worried about her mom, but was quickly distracted by Alexis.

* * *

At the hospital, the doctor easily diagnosed Kate's swollen ankle as sprained. It would need to be wrapped for at least three weeks and she would need to use crutches to keep all weight off of it for a week.

Kate was pissed that Meredith's pranks had escalated to injury and that her work would be hindered. It was late when Rick and Kate got home, so she went upstairs and kissed Kaylie goodnight before going to bed herself. She already had a plan forming in her head…

* * *

The next day Kate called Captain Montgomery, explained the situation and took a personal day. Her next call was to her father. He agreed to having her and Kaylie stay with him until her apartment was ready to move back into again.

With her calls done, she packed her things and headed to the living room to tell Castle, who was already up. She hobbled out on her crutches. Kaylie, Alexis, Castle, and Meredith were all in the living room.

"Hey Castle? I need to talk to you please." Without waiting for a response, Kate made her way into the kitchen. Castle stood and followed her.

"What's up?"

"Kaylie and I are going to my dad's," Kate said simply.

"Ok. Why did you need to tell me out here? What time will you be back?"

"Castle, we are going to go stay with my dad until my apartment is livable again."

"What? Why can't you stay here? Have I done something to make you mad?"

"No, Castle! It's just, the loft is a little crowded with all of us here and my dad wants to see more of Kaylie and I…" Kate trailed off, looking away. She knew she couldn't look him in the eye or she would cave in and tell him everything. It was just too easy to get lost in his ocean blue eyes.

"Kate, look at me. I know it's more than it being crowded. Please talk to me." He put a finger under her chin and lifted her face to his."

Kate met Castle's eyes and paused. She didn't want to cause drama, but she could tell he really wanted to know how to help her. She sighed. He would find out eventually, so she might as well tell him now. "Meredith has been pranking me since we got here and she got Alexis to help. It started out trivial and I was fine with it. Sure it was annoying, but I didn't want to cause tension between you and Meredith. Plus, it seemed to help Meredith bond with Alexis. You and Kaylie weren't affected so it didn't seem like that big of a deal."

"So what's the issue now?"

"I didn't just fall when I sprained my ankle." Kate said as she went on to explain Meredith's last prank.

Castle was furious. He turned and walked back to the living room. "Meredith! What did you do?" Castle exclaimed.

Kate hobbled out as quickly as she could. "Castle just leave it alone. Kaylie and I will stay with my dad; it's not a problem. I don't want to cause any drama."

"Kate, none of this is your fault,ok? This is her fault. She's the one behind all the pranks and the cause of your injury."

"Kate?" Alexis said quietly, immediately drawing the woman's attention.

Kate went over to Alexis and sat down next to her since, with her sprained ankle, she couldn't kneel. "What is it Sweetheart?" She asked, her motherly instincts kicking in.

"The other night you said that you wouldn't leave. You promised." Alexis said quietly, tears welling in her eyes.

"Oh, Alexis. We aren't leaving forever. Just not staying here anymore. It was going to happen soon anyway, when we could go back to our apartment."

"Are you mad at me? For helping my mom?"

"Never, you just wanted to spend time with her, you don't get to do that a lot. Don't think that this is your fault ok? You didn't do anything wrong. The pranks you helped with were pretty funny and you would even help me clean up when needed." Kate said, forgetting about the others in the room and focusing solely on Alexis.

Alexis looked up at Kate and nodded with a small smile. "Ok. She said she was just trying to have fun."

Assured Alexis was ok, Kate stood up once again. "Castle, we really need to go. I don't want to be the reason there is tension between you two, she is Alexis' mom after all.

"But Kate, we don't want you to go. We love having you here."

"Mommy? I don't want to go to grandpa's. It's smaller and I don't get to play with Alexis. Can we please stay here?" Kaylie spoke up.

"Yeah! If anyone should leave it's Mommy because she is the only one with a problem. I love her and love having her here, but she hurt you and made trouble and that's not ok!"

Meredith sat there speechless. She never thought her plan could backfire so spectacularly. Now Alexis wanted HER to leave? Kate was the one that needed to leave, not her. Kate didn't belong here, she did, didn't she?

"Mommy?" Kaylie said.

"What is it Kaylie-Bug?" Kate asked smiling down at her daughter who was clutching onto her leg.

"The loud lady hurt you?" She asked glancing towards Meredith.

"She caused the accident that made me fall, but she didn't hurt me on purpose."

"Can I go to Alexis' room? I don't want her to accidentally hurt me too."

"She's not going to hurt you, but you and Alexis should go up to her room. The adults need to talk, sorry." Kate smiled apologetically.

Alexis huffed as she stood up and took Kaylie's hand. "Adults always send the kids away when things get interesting."

"That's not fair," Kaylie pouted, even though she was the one that originally wanted to go upstairs.

Once the girls were gone, Castle turned to Meredith. "Well, you've been surprisingly quiet. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"I never meant for you to get hurt, Kate. It was just supposed to be a harmless prank like all the others."

"I also want to talk about that. Why have you been pranking her?" Castle asked.

"I just thought it would be funny."

"Meredith, you and I both know this wasn't to be funny. Woman to woman you know this was malicious. So what was it? Were you trying to see what would make me leave or was it to assert your dominance?"

"Woman to woman? Fine. I want you gone, plain and simple. You don't belong here. Alexis is MY daughter, not yours. Castle was MY husband, not yours. This was MY house, not yours," Meredith burst out.

"Meredith, you are still Alexis' mom and you always will be, but you are no longer my wife and you don't live here anymore. I allow you to stay here when you are in town, solely for the fact that you are Alexis' mom. I am with Kate now. You were both my guests and I will not have my guests treat each other that way. I want you out. You can stay in a hotel and come visit Alexis during the day, but you can't stay here anymore, not for a while. Also, if you are going to be in town, or want to come visit Alexis in the future, you need to ask me, before you mention it to Alexis. And when you say you will come, you have to stick to those promises. I've allowed you far too much leeway in the past because you are her mom and I felt she needed a mother figure. And while, like I've said, you will always be her mother, she has Kate now who can give her guidance and be a female role model. I want you to be a part of her life, but you can't just blow in and out of her life with no respect for me or her."

Castle heaved a sigh, slightly out of breath after his monologue.

Meredith was once again speechless. Castle had never spoken to her that way in their eight months of dating, four years of marriage, or the six years since the divorce. "If that's how you feel, I'll go pack my things and leave. I should get back to LA anyway. I need to go to some auditions," Meredith said stiffly. She turned and stalked out of the room still somewhat unsure of what had just happened.

"Castle, you didn't have to do that."

"Kate, that wasn't only for you. I've needed to say that to her for years. She is a whirlwind that comes in and turns our lives upside down and then leaves a few days later, leaving us to clean up the mess. It always messes with Alexis and I just can't take it anymore. I know you are new to this family and that you don't want to take over as Alexis' mom, but I hope you don't mind her looking to you as a mother figure and role model. Based on your conversation with her just now, I can tell you'll be great with her. Plus, I've seen how amazing you are with Kaylie."

"Alexis is wonderful. I would love to be a role model for her."

"You are extraordinary Kate."

* * *

Two hours later Meredith was packed and had said goodbye to Alexis. She was spending the night in a nearby hotel and would be taking an early flight back to LA.

Everyone still remaining in the loft hoped everything would calm down once again.

**There you have it. I hope you enjoyed. I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner. Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought, any suggestions or questions, and if you found any mistakes. Thanks and love you all:)**


	38. The Past

**I am so sorry that it has taken so long to get this chapter up! After the last chapter I wasn't really sure where I wanted to go next. Some of your reviews brought up the fact that Kate leaving how she was going to was sure to cause drama, and it didn't make sense that she claimed leaving would avoid drama. This chapter should make her motives make more sense I hope. It gives Kate some back story as well. Once again I am so sorry it has been so long but between writers block and how crazy this semester has been, I haven't had a lot of time to write. I hope to get another chapter out soon since my Thanksgiving break starts on Wednesday. For all of you that have stuck around and have been anxiously awaiting this chapter, thank you:)**

**Guest: Thank you for your input. Honestly, I wasn't really thinking about it that way until I saw your review as well as several others. Honestly her thought process didn't make sense. Hopefully this chapter will put it in perspective and give her the logic she needed.**

**Bellasibaja: Thank you, here is the next chapter for your reading enjoyment:)**

**The Past**

The night Meredith left, Castle was sitting on his bed facing the bathroom door when Kate came out on her crutches. Her hair was up in a towel and she had her robe on. She was surprised to see Castle was on the bed and not typing away at his desk as he normally would be at this time. He usually spent a few hours typing, or procrastinating depending on the night, after diner.

"Did you need in?" Kate asked, gesturing to the door behind her with her head as she limped over to the bed. Castle shook his head as she sat down beside him, laying her crutches on her other side.

She started towel drying her hair as Castle began to speak, "I think we need to talk."

Kate stopped toweling her hair at that phrase. She swallowed down the lump that began to form in her throat. "What's wrong?"

"It's about what happened with Meredith."

"Ok…"

"Kate," Castle said with a sigh. "Why didn't you tell me about her pranks when they started?"

"Honestly? I thought she was just trying to assert her dominance as Alexis' mom and your first wife when she started. Then it was just stupid little things that didn't really matter. Alexis told me it was just for a laugh and I could see how much she wanted to please Meredith. I mean, you even commented on how Alexis and Meredith were getting along better and spending more time together than usual. I didn't want to disrupt that, so I just let it go. It really wasn't anything bad and only a minor inconvenience. I just didn't want to rock the boat, especially for the girls," Kate answered, trying her best to minimize Meredith's actions. She wasn't sure she was ready to share her real reason for keeping quiet.

"When did it start?" Castle asked, wanting to know all of the details.

"That night she made dinner? She added all the spice to mine and then dumped the ice cream on me. That was the first time. I didn't really realize that it was purposeful until the next day when she continued."

"I want to know everything. What else did she do?"

Kate sighed. "I'll tell you everything if you promise not to overreact."

"Why would I overreact?" Castle asked, attempting to look innocent. Kate merely gave him a 'really' look and he quickly changed his tune. "Ok, fine. I promise I will stay as calm as I can."

"Also, can I put on some real clothes? This robe is getting a little chilly."

"Oh, right, of course. I'll just, um, be in my office. You can just tell when you're ready or if you need any help with anything."

"Thanks Castle," Kate said, kissing him lightly on the cheek before he scurried out of the room to give her time to change.

* * *

Kate called for Castle to come back a few minutes later. She then went through Meredith's time in the loft and all the pranks she had pulled.

"Kate, it sounds like this week has been miserable for you. Why didn't you tell me? At the very least I could have spoken privately to her."

"That's very unlikely. You can never keep your thoughts to yourself, especially when it involves those you care about. I just wanted to handle it myself this time. I thought if I dealt with it on my own it would be fine, but when I got hurt I felt it was time for me to leave the situation. That's what my mom told me to do…" Kate trailed off, realizing what she had revealed. She hoped Castle wouldn't notice, but also knew the chances of that were very slim.

"What do you mean, 'this time?'" Castle asked.

"Nothing. Can we just forget about it?" Kate asked turning away, attempting to end the conversation.

"No, we can't. This is obviously important to you, Kate, so I want to know. I want to try to help."

Kate sighed. She remained facing away from him, debating if she should tell him. It would help him understand her actions, but she didn't like telling this story. Thinking about it, however, she knew Castle wouldn't let it go. Plus, if she was honest with herself, she would tell him eventually if their relationship continued to progress as it was. With another sigh, she turned back to Castle. "Fine, but I don't like telling this story. I need you to promise to let me tell it without interrupting me. Can you do that?"

"Of course. I'm here to listen and do whatever I can to help."

Kate sighed for what felt like the millionth time that night. "There were two incidents. The first was in elementary school. I had a bunch of friends until about second grade. For some reason the girls decided that they didn't want to be my friend anymore. By second grade standards they were so cruel to me. I don't know what happened, but they all turned on me. I didn't want my parents to know, so I would tell them I was going to go to a friend's house, but I would just go to the library instead. It's where I developed my love of reading. Books couldn't judge me.

"One day my mom decided to bring me lunch at school since she had a slow day at work. When she went into the cafeteria to find me, I wasn't there. I ate my lunch in a bathroom stall. Stereotypical, I know. When they found me, they questioned why I was there. When I told them about the bullying, they promised they would make it better. They had an assembly on bullying to try to fix the situation.

"I don't know how they thought it would help. Basically, everyone blamed me for making them sit through a boring assembly all day. After the assembly, it just got worse.

"I told my parents and they had me change schools because it wasn't worth it. That's the first part. Do you have anything you want to say?"

"I'm just sorry that happened to you. You did nothing to deserve that." Castle said with a sad look on his face.

"I'm gonna go grab a drink real quick and then I'll tell you the rest, ok?"

"Whatever you want, Kate. I know this is hard for you."

Kate went to the kitchen and got a glass of water. Surprisingly, telling Castle this story wasn't as bad as she expected. He let her speak without interrupting and didn't seem to pity her, only feel sad that she had to go through the experience and he couldn't make it better. There was just something about Rick that put her at ease, and she was grateful for it.

Meanwhile, Castle was sitting on his bed. He couldn't believe she had gone through that at such a young age. She was younger than Alexis is now. No child deserves that kind of treatment.

A few minutes later, Kate walked back into the room. Castle was sitting with his back against the headboard. When he saw her, he opened his arms. She walked over and carefully moved into his embrace, mindful of her ankle. She knew she would need some of his strength if she was going to get through the rest of this story. The second part was always way worse.

"This part is harder," Kate warned Castle.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Castle said, wanting to give her an out.

"I've gotten this far, I need to finish it. Plus, telling you isn't as bad as telling some other people has been."

"I'm glad. All I want is for my girls to feel safe and comfortable around me."

Kate smiled. "Ok, if I'm gonna tell this, I need to do it now, or it's never gonna happen. This story is about freshman year of high school. I was happy in the new school system. I was shy at first, but soon made new friends. Life was good again.

"Maddie was my best friend. We were both pretty popular. At the beginning of the year we found out that her family would be moving and she would likely only be staying through first semester. Towards the end of the semester we started getting in fights about everything. Someone told me later that we were probably doing it unconsciously to make the separation easier. Right before she left we got in a huge blow out about some guy. It was stupid, I don't even remember his name.

"Somehow word got out. Some other girls decided to make up a rumor that I slept with a bunch of guys. Eventually this girl named Rebecca heard that I had slept with her boyfriend. She didn't take too kindly to that fact and started to bully me. She was downright cruel.

"Most of the time she would confront me in the bathroom and threaten me. She would assault me in the cafeteria as well, dumping my tray on me or tripping me while I was carrying my food. We had a large cafeteria so it was easy for her to do it when the teachers weren't looking. She tried to avoid situations in which she could get caught by a teacher so it would just be her word against mine. That way I wouldn't bother going to the teachers since it was unlikely they would believe me.

"After about two months, she started hitting me. I told my mom and that's when she told me to just remove myself from the situation if she came up to me. She said that I could go to the principal if I wanted to, but she didn't want to make the decision for me since it had turned out so badly in the past and I was old enough to make my own decisions.

"I forgot a book in my locker the next day. I needed it for something we were doing so the teacher had me go get it. I didn't think anything of it since it was during class. I should have paid more attention, because when I closed my locker, Rebecca was there. She had two of her friends with her.

"I remember hearing Mom's voice in my head, 'Just leave and go somewhere with adults you trust.' I tried to move around them, but she pushed me into the lockers. At that moment, I knew I was trapped. I couldn't get away and there was no one around to save me. Even if I had yelled, there were no classrooms near enough for anyone to hear me. I felt helpless," Kate paused. Tears filled her eyes as that feeling of helplessness washed through her again as she relived the experience. Castle hugged her tighter to his side. He wished he could take all the pain and sadness away and give her some of his strength.

After a moment, Kate took a ragged breath and began again, her voice shaking slightly. "They kept hitting me until I was on the ground. They pause for a minute, but then Rebecca kicked me and they all kept going. Mostly it was just kicking and spitting, but Rebecca did drop down and deliver a few punches as well. The whole time they kept hurling insults at me, calling me a slut, telling me nobody would ever want a whore like me. It was awful.

"I don't know how much time passed before my savior appeared. Josh Davidson was his name. He was a junior and already accepted into a pre-med program. He had been in the library taking an online class and finished early. He had come out to take a walk, I guess, when he heard the noise. When he saw what was going on he ran to the office to get the nurse and some help to get the girls off of me. Even though he was a football player and pretty strong, he knew he couldn't take all three of them at once.

"I was in the hospital for a week after that. I had a concussion, a sprained wrist, and a broken foot. My mom took the time off from work and we spent most of it watching _Temptation Lane_. My dad spent all his time off at the hospital as well. He had a big case coming up at the time so he couldn't take the time off, though he wished he could. Josh visited for at least half an hour every day as well to make sure I was ok.

"So that's the story," Kate finished trying to downplay it so she wouldn't start crying. "I know you have questions, so lay them on me."

"Did you have to change schools again?" Castle asked getting right to his questions. He wanted to keep her talking so he could find out everything he wanted to know before she clammed up again.

"No, Josh was like my protector after that. He walked me to classes, made sure no one messed with me, and put an end to the rumors. It was amazing. Rebecca and her friends were expelled from school so that made things easier too."

"So what happened between you and Josh? Do the two of you still talk?"

"We talk occasionally. Usually an email here or there. We dated during high school. He graduated a semester early, so after the first semester of my sophomore year. We lasted until spring break of that year. Neither of us was happy anymore. Long distance didn't work for us. He was too busy with pre-med and I just wasn't ready for a relationship serious enough to last long distance. We are still polite, but not that close. He's actually married now with a little boy of his own."

"Thank you so much for telling me this. I can see why you didn't tell me about Meredith."

"I just wanted to do it on my own this time. But, maybe, now we could do it together?"

Castle pulled Kate closer to him. "That sounds perfect. I would love to help you through anything in the future." He pressed a gentle kiss to Kate's lips. He went to pull away, but she put her arms around him and deepened the kiss.

Castle was the first to pull away a few minutes later, gasping for air. "Babe, what was that for?" It was then he realized the position they had gotten themselves into. They had slid down the bed, Kate was on top of Castle with her shirt worked up over her stomach, and one of Castle's hands was on her hip and the other had made its way up the back of her shirt, near her bra clasp.

"I guess it was just a thank you for understanding and listening."

"While I would love to continue this, I don't think either of us is ready for that, so I'm gonna go take a cold shower. You can get under the covers and go to sleep. You've had a long and tiring day so I'm sure you are ready to sleep."

"You really are an amazing man, Rick. Even if you do act like a child most of the time."

**There you have it:) I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I would like to apologize one more time for how long it has been and thank all of you that have stuck around this long. While I can't promise that I won't take this long to post again, I can promise that I will do my very best to upload much more frequently:) As always please leave me a review letting me know what you thought, any suggestions or questions you have, and if you found any mistakes. Thanks and love you all:)**


	39. Time to Say Goodbye

**So, it has taken me longer than I wanted to get this chapter out. It will probably be a while before I get another chapter out as well. While I am not putting this story on hiatus, I will be going back through all the previous chapters and editing them. It has been over a year since I have read some of them and I feel that I need to go back and reacquaint myself with the story. Classes are also starting again in a few days and I know they will eat up my time as well. I hope you all enjoy this chapter:)**

**Guest: I wouldn't consider my version of Castle a moron. I think he was just oblivious because he was happy and didn't want to see anything wrong. Thank you for your question and enjoy this chapter:)**

**Time to Say Goodbye**

The rest of the week passed by quite peacefully and it was soon time for Kate and Kaylie to return to their apartment. Everyone was at least somewhat emotional. Kate was doing the best to keep her emotions under control. While she was packing a stray tear or two fell, but she quickly wiped them away before anyone could see. She was definitely going to miss this place and the family that inhabited it, the family that she and her daughter were now a part of it.

Kaylie and Alexis were the worst at keeping their emotions in check, which was expected of the five and ten year olds. Kaylie wasn't completely sure of what was happening, but she knew she wouldn't be sharing a room with Alexis anymore and she didn't like that. Alexis knew that Kate and Kaylie weren't leaving like her nightmare, but she was going back to her apartment and they wouldn't get to see each other everyday. Alexis was definitely mature for her age, but she still didn't deal with separation well due to her mother's absence.

Castle did his best to keep his emotions in check, but his childish side was coming out. Kate often caught him pouting and noticed a whine in his voice as he helped her pack.

Too soon, Kate and Kaylie were fully packed and ready to head back to their apartment. Castle helped Kate move the bags to the door. Kaylie and Alexis were saying goodbye to each other in Alexis' room.

"So, I'll see you at the precinct on Monday?" Castle asked, reminding himself that it was only a day away.

"Umm, sure. Maybe we could do something between now and then? For the girls? They've been together almost 24-7 since we started staying here, you know?"

"Yeah, it would help ease the separation."

"So let's talk tonight and plan something for Sunday?"

"Sounds good," Castle said, finding himself staring at Kate's lips. He was going to miss kissing her goodnight before bed every night, and kissing her awake every morning.

"I'm going to miss you," Kate sighed, gently resting her hand on his cheek. Since they were alone, she allowed her weakness to show with a single tear leaving a trail to her chin where Castle caught it.

"Nothing is going to change. We will still see each other all the time at the precinct and we can get the girls together on the weekends or after school. It's barely been a week. Everything will go back to how it was before and we will be fine."

"But what if I like it better this way?" Kate whispered before pulling away and turning to where the girls were coming down the stairs. "You ready to go Kaylie?"

"I just gotta say goodbye to Mr. Castle."

"I'm going to miss you Doodle-bug," Castle said with a smile.

"Doodle-bug?"

"Do you like it? I noticed you like to draw and color a lot, hence the doodle part, and your mom calls you Kaylie-bug, so I stole the bug part from her."

"I like it," Kaylie said after deliberating for a few seconds. "It's better than shrimp and munchkin. That's what my grandpa calls me." She then stepped forward and hugged Castle. "Thank you for letting us stay here and helping me pick which stuffed animals to bring." She nodded to her animals sitting on top of one of her bags by the door.

While this conversation was going on, Kate and Alexis were saying their own goodbyes.

"Promise I'll still see you guys?" Alexis asked quietly.

"Of course. Your dad and I are planning to set something up for Sunday. As long as you want to see Kaylie and I, I will do everything I can to make that happen, all right?"

"Thank you, Detective Beckett."

"I've been living with you for a week, I think you can call me Kate."

"Ok, thank you, Kate."

"Anytime Red," Kate said. She hugged the young girl in front of her, happy that she had met her and become part of her family. Alexis hugged her back tightly and smiled up at her.

* * *

Much too quickly for anyone's liking the group managed to get all the bags packed into Kate's car. Kate couldn't stand to prolong the inevitable any longer. She loaded Kaylie into the backseat after one last round of goodbyes.

Kaylie was unusually quiet on the ride to their apartment, but Kate didn't mind. Both were lost to their own thoughts as they tried to digest what they were feeling about their time with the Castles and now being separated.

After the two got home and settled Kate looked around to see what needed to be done. Everything looked fine, other than the fridge which needed cleaned out, but that could wait until tomorrow, Kate decided that she should spend the night distracting Kaylie.

Kate pushed open Kaylie's door. The girl was sitting on her bed telling all her stuffed animals that she didn't bring with her about her time with the Castles. Kate rapped her knuckles against the doorframe, "Sorry to interrupt."

"Hi Mommy. What'cha need?"

"Well, it's a Saturday, you don't have school, I don't have work, and it's only two o'clock. Want to have a mommy-daughter day?"

Kaylie's face lit up. "I love mommy-daughter days! They are the best kinda day. What we gonna do?"

"Well, I was thinking a movie and nail day with some order in dinner later. How's that sound?"

"Makeovers too?"

"Sure baby, we can even paint you little toenails too."

"Yay! Can I pick the first movie?" Kaylie asked as she slid off her bed and grabbed a few stuffed animals to bring with her.

"Sure, I'll get the polish and snacks."

After Kate picked out a few nail polish colors and grabbed some junk food from the kitchen, she headed to the living room. Kaylie was in the process of making a fort out of the couch cushions and some pillows and blankets from various rooms around the apartment.

"Need some help?"

"Do you know how to make a fort? I'm trying to do it how 'Lexis described it, but I can't get it to work."

"Sure, I made forts with Grandma Johanna and Grandpa all the time when I was your age. I'll show you how to do it." Kate smiled at her daughter and sat down the snacks and nail polish before showing Kaylie how to fix the fort up in a way that provided enough room for the two of them inside and a good view of the TV.

"Ok, so what's the first movie?"

"_Tangled_," Kaylie said with a big grin on her face. She cuddled up to her mom and grabbed some gummy bears. Kate smiled down at her before settling in for the movie.

* * *

After _Tangled_, the two watched another movie while they painted their nails and did each other's makeup. Kate figured it was time for dinner. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Pizza?" Kaylie asked.

"Of course. Normal toppings?"

"Yeah!" Kaylie exclaimed.

* * *

After surprising the pizza delivery man with her crazy makeup and eating dinner, Kaylie and Kate watched a few more movies. It was then time for Kaylie to go to bed. Kate put her to bed and cleaned up the living room. She then got herself ready for bed. It was still rather early so Kate got into bed and grabbed the book off her nightstand. She opened the book to where she had last left off and began to read.

A few pages in, her phone buzzed with a text message from Castle. 'How are you &amp; Kaylie?'

'Kaylie's tucked in &amp; I'm just relaxing. How are you &amp; Alexis?' Kate replied.

Instead of a response, when her phone buzzed again, she saw Castle was calling her. "Hey," Kate said as she answered.

"Hi. And to answer your question Alexis and I are doing well. She's in bed too. What did you two lovely ladies do once you got back?"

The two talked about their days and made plans for getting together with the girls the next day. They allowed the conversation to wander until they were falling asleep. They said goodnight before they both hung up and fell asleep. It wasn't as good as kissing each other goodnight and falling asleep in each other's arms, but it was the next best thing.

**There you have it:) I hope you all enjoyed it and I hope to see you again soon:) Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought, any suggestions or questions you have, and if you found any mistakes. I really mean this. Your reviews mean the world to me and I do my best to respond to everyone. Even if it is a small comment, I am willing to listen, or should I say read:) Negative comments help me grow as a writer if they are constructive. So in short please please please review, it makes my day:) Thanks and love you all:)**


	40. Sunday Quartet

**Hey guys! I would like to start out saying that I am so very, very sorry that it has been so long since I posted a chapter. There has been a mixture of factors that caused the delay. To start with, I went back through all of the previous chapters and edited them, no big changes mostly grammar. Then I had some writers block. After that it was just being busy and not being in the routine of writing. I have the next few days off as my college is on fall break so I'm going to try to write another chapter in that time. I know when I took three months to upload I said I would never do that again. I think I can definitely promise that I will never wait ten months between posting unless I am ending this story.**

**If I missed responding to any reviews, I am terribly sorrow and will get back on track now that I've posted again. Anyways, on with what you really want to read, chapter 40.**

**Sunday Quartet**

Sunday morning, Kate was woken up by Kaylie jumping in her bed. "What did I tell you about jumping on the bed?"

Kaylie plopped down. "Sorry, Mommy. When do we get to go see Alexis and Mr. Castle?"

"What time is it?" Kate asked, looking to the alarm clock on her night stand. "Nine o'clock. That means we are meeting them in four hours. Want to make a big brunch?"

"I love brunch!"

"Well, ok then, let's get cooking. Just give me a minute to wash my face and I'll be out, ok?"

"Ok Mommy!" Kaylie said as she scampered off the bed and out of her mother's room.

Kate got out of bed and made her way to the bathroom. She went about her morning routine quickly, knowing Kaylie would be itching to start cooking.

As Kate was leaving the bathroom, she heard the sound of something crashing to the floor in the kitchen. Kate sped up as best she could on her crutches. She once again wished Wednesday would get there quicker so she could get rid of the stupid crutches. When she got to the kitchen, Kaylie was standing amid several pans on the ground looking quite guilty. When she heard Kate, she looked up. "I'm sorry Mommy. I was just trying to help by getting pans out, but they felled."

"It's ok Baby Girl. I appreciate the help, but maybe next time you let me get the pans out and you get the bowls which are lower, ok?"

"Ok," Kaylie replied, smiling at her mom before helping pick everything up and put them in the sink to be washed.

* * *

The two spent the next hours cooking lots of food: quiche, pancakes, bacon, eggs, biscuits and gravy, and some sausage. When they were finished, Kate realized they had made way too much food for the two of them. The plan was to save the leftovers for breakfast for the rest of the week, but there was going to be way too much. Every time Kaylie had suggested another dish, Kate had suggested agreed, more than happy to share recipes with her daughter.

"What do you say we invite the Castle's over to share this? There is no way we will eat it all any time soon."

"Yay! More time with the Castles!"

"I'll take that was a yes. Let me call him, keep in mind, they may have eaten already, or have other breakfast plans," Kate warned, picking up her phone.

Castle picked up after a few rings, "Castle."

"Hey, it's me."

"Kate, what's up?" Not canceling on us I hope."

"No, I was just wondering if you two had eaten yet?"

"Not yet, we were planning on stopping somewhere on our way over."

"Well, Kaylie and I made brunch and went a little over board. If you guys want to come over, we would love to share."

"When do you want us over?"

"How long do you need?" Kate asked, hoping she didn't sound too desperate or clingy.

"Ok, we will be there in about twenty minutes."

"Sounds good, but we may start without you, just so you know. It all smells too good to wait." Kate chuckled.

"You are such a temptress, see you soon."

* * *

The Castle's arrived at Kate's apartment soon after. The four enjoyed eating together, joking and laughing as they ate quite a bit of food. When they were all stuffed and unable to eat anymore, there was still enough left for breakfast for the week for Kate and Kaylie as well as some for Castle and Alexis to take home.

Once all the leftovers were packed away, the quartet made their way to the park. The adults figured it would give the girls the opportunity to work off the energy from the sugary brunch. Their next stop was the movie theatre. Secret Life of Pets had just come out and the girls, and Castle, were excited to see it. Though Kate wouldn't admit it, she was excited too. After almost every preview, Kaylie would lean over to Kate and whisper, "I wanna see that." It made Kate chuckle, because she knew by the end of the movie, probably the end of the next preview, Kaylie wouldn't remember what she had waned to see.

They all loved the movie. Once it was over, they decided to head back to Kate's. Kaylie was fading fast and Alexis wasn't doing much better. They sent the girls to Kaylie's room for some quiet time and hopefully a nap. They knew they would try to stay up and play or talk, but they also knew that at the very least, Kaylie would soon fall asleep. The adults sat down on the couch and turned the TV on for background noise while they talked for a bit.

"How do they have so much energy?" Kate asked, sighing. "If it weren't for you two and those at the precinct, I have no idea how I would keep up with Kaylie some days. Half the time I feel like I need nap time more than her."

"Don't worry. It gets better as they get older. The more she does with school, the more worn out she'll be."

"That also worries me too. What if she gets so busy she doesn't have time for me?"

"Kate, that little girl loves you so much and you are such a good mother. Even if there are times when it seems she is too busy for you, she will still love you. An I know she would still go to you if she never needed anything."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive. You are one of the best mothers I have ever seen. You are more of a mother to Alexis most of the time than her own mother has been in years. Now come here," Castle said, pulling Kate into him.

They stayed like that until they fell asleep.

* * *

Kate and Castle were awakened by a flash of light and the sound of giggles and running feet.

"I think the girls are up," Kate said. She shifted in Rick's arm, sitting up slightly to look at her watch. "Castle, it's already 4:30. We should start thinking about dinner. I'm sure the girls are getting hungry."

"Wow… yeah. We should get on that. I don't think I even meant to sleep, but I am hungry too."

"I'm thinking order in? Pizza? Or Chinese?"

"Let's go with pizza. It's easier."

"Would you like to call? I'll go wrangle the girls." Kate stood up, heading in the direction of Kaylie's room.

Kate peeked into Kaylie's room and saw the two young occupants giggling over a picture. "What do we have here?" she asked as she walked into the room.

"Picture of you," Kaylie said, smiling.

"And my dad!" Alexis added with a wide grin. She held up a picture taken with a polaroid camera. Late stepped closer and saw that it was a picture of Kate and Castle snuggled on the couch, just before they had woken up. Kate was impressed, it was rather good for a ten-year-old and five-year-old.

"Who took this? It's really good."

"I took it with Kaylie's camera," Alexis said, her smile growing larger at the praise being offered.

"Well, at this rate I think you could have a career as photographer ahead of you."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but who knows? You're still young, you could be anything."

"Me too Mommy?" Kaylie asked, an idea forming in her head.

"You too Munchkin. If you girls put your minds to it, I have no doubt you can accomplish anything you set your mind to."

"So I could be a unicorn tamer?" Kaylie asked.

"Honestly, with the way technology is going nowadays, I wouldn't be surprised if there were unicorns by the time you girls are adults," Kate said.

* * *

Castle finished ordering the pizza and went to see what the rest of the apartment was up to. He heard the end of the conversation between Kate and the girls. He admired how positive and encouraging Kate was towards the girls.

"Pizza's been ordered. One only cheese and one with pepperoni."

"Pizza! Yay!" Kaylie cheered.

"What should we do while we wait?" Kate asked.

"Could we play a game?" Alexis asked.

"I like that idea. And we can finish after dinner if need be. What do you think, Kate?" Castle asked.

"Sounds like a great idea. I'll show you guys what games we have and we can pick one together."

The group decided on Trouble. It was easy enough for Kaylie to be able to understand, but still fun for Alexis and the adults.

As they began to play, it was discovered that Castle was very unlucky in this game. It didn't help that the girls all decided to gang up on him. Whenever possible they would send his pieces back to home. When the pizza arrived, all four of Castle's pieces were back in home again, Kaylie had one piece in the finish spaces, and Kate and Alexis had two pieces in finish each. It was entertaining to Kate, seeing Castle get so frustrated. She could also tell, however that he was playing it up somewhat for her and the girls' enjoyment.

Kate sent the girls to the kitchen to get plates out while she and Castle went to the door. Kate planned on paying, but Castle beat her to it. She attempted to protest, but was quickly silenced with a chaste kiss on the lips. Kate decided to just go with it for once. She smiled, gave Castle a side hug as he was holding the pizza. The two walked to the kitchen still holding each other. When they got there, Alexis and Kaylie were setting places at the table. Kaylie was putting out napkins and silverware (the plates were already out) while Alexis filled cups with water and carefully took them to the table.

Kate and Castle shared a look after watching the girls for a few moments. They could tell they were thinking the same thing, this moment needed to be immortalized. Kate quickly pulled out her phone and took a short video of the two girls moving around the kitchen with such precision and care.

Kaylie was the first to notice the adults. "Mommy! I set the table! I tried to do it how you showed me. Did I do good?"

"It looks wonderful Baby Girl."

Alexis brought the last cup of water to the table and the four sat down to eat. Dinner was filled with laughter, and stories. There were also several taunts aimed at Castle for his bad luck with the game of Trouble.

The joking and conversation followed them to the living room where they continued their game.

Kate decided to take pity on Castle and didn't send him back to home every time she could, just most times. In the end, Alexis won, Kaylie got second, Kate got third, and Castle still had two pieces that didn't make it to finish with one still in home. Castle pouted some, like a child.

"Aww, don't feel too bad, Castle. Could have happened to anyone. How about a cookie to make you feel better?"

"Cookie?" Kaylie asked, perking up at the idea of a treat.

"I'd say we all deserve a cookie for a well played game, besides, we didn't have dessert."

"I think that sounds like a great idea," Castle said standing, with the intention of helping Kate get the sweets from the kitchen.

"But isn't it getting kind of late for treats?" Alexis asked.

"More responsible than her parents. I have no idea where she gets it from," Castle said, looking at Kate. "It's fine Pumpkin. It's not too awfully late. One cookie won't keep you up."

"Ok…" Alexis said, "But I do have school tomorrow so I need to go to bed by 9:00."

"I know I'm keeping an eye on the time. Now let's go get those cookies!" Castle said, grabbing Kate's hand and pulling her towards the kitchen. Kate just rolled her eyes and followed him.

In the kitchen she reached up to grab the cookies from on top of the cupboards. Castle's eyes were drawn to her lower back as her shirt rode up and then her butt.

"Admiring my assets are you?" Kate asked as she turned around, cookie jar in hand.

"How could I not, they are gorgeous, just like you," Castle took the cookie jar from Kate's hands and placed it on the counter. He then pulled her in for a kiss that was less than chaste as his hands found their way to the assets his eyes had previously admired. They separated soon, knowing there were two young girls waiting for cookies in the next room. Kate grabbed the cookie jar, Castle grabbed some napkins and the two returned to the girls.

It wasn't long after that Castle and Alexis decided to call it a night. It was getting somewhat late and the girls needed time to wind down before bed.

As Kaylie was taking her bath, Kare couldn't help but notice how quiet the apartment was. At Castle's there had almost always been some sort of noise. It was strange. She didn't realize how much she would miss something she had barely experienced, namely living with the Castle's.

**I hope this chapter was worth the wait. ****Please leave me a review letting me know what you thought, any suggestions or questions you have, and if you found any mistakes. Thank you so much and I love you all!  
**


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